Seeing Beyond The Mask
by Paragon of Awesomeness
Summary: As Revan counters Malak's betrayal, and captures Bastila, she discovers that there is more to the Jedi Civil War than she once thought. And she also finds out that underneath, Revan might still be the same man that she fell in love with long ago.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story.**

**Chapter 1: Remembering**

Bastila had felt completely overwhelmed when the Council had informed her of the mission they were sending her on; the mission to capture Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith. She knew that this was an act of desperation on the Council's part; they wouldn't risk her unless they felt they truly had no other option. Bastila had been the Republic's single advantage against the Sith during the war, and if Revan killed her – or even worse, somehow managed to _turn_ her – it would only be a matter of time before Revan conquered everything.

As Bastila and the other Jedi and Republic commandos prepared for the mission, her thoughts constantly drifted toward Revan. What would happen when she confronted him? Would she be able to follow the council's orders, or would she be frozen in place by his overwhelming presence? _'No. The Council knows of your history with Revan, and they took it into account. They would not send you unless they were absolutely certain that you would be able to do what is necessary.'_ Bastila thought, attempting to strengthen her resolve. Yet in spite of this, she just couldn't forget her time with Revan, and the feelings she'd had for him.

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><p><em>When Bastila had first come to the Jedi Academy on Dantooine, she had been a teary, needy, lonely, five year old child that was anything but Jedi material other than her strong connection to the Force. She hadn't gotten along very well with the other apprentices, and her Master, Vrook, was a rather harsh teacher who had no patience whatsoever when it came to emotions. Bastila had spent almost every night for the first month crying herself to sleep, until one day she bumped into an apprentice boy five years older than her already on the brink of becoming a Padawan. That boy had been Revan. And he'd been everything that Bastila had needed to continue her time in the Academy. When she needed help understanding her lessons, Revan had been there to teach her. When she needed to touch up on her lightsaber skills, Revan had been there to train her. When she needed someone that she could actually talk to, Revan had been there to listen. And when she just couldn't keep her sadness inside her any longer, Revan had given her a shoulder to cry on. Almost as soon as the two of them had met, Revan had been the big brother she'd never had, yet always wanted. However, as Bastila reached puberty, she began to see Revan as her knight in shining armour.<em>

_As Bastila got closer to her teens, she began to fantasize about what it would be like to kiss Revan – and as she grew older she began to fantasize about _other_ things she could do with him as well. Everything Bastila learned about Revan served only to make her idolize him even more; he was the last descendant of the Mandalorian clan Bloodraven; he was the best duellist in the entire Academy; he was the youngest Padawan – and later the youngest Knight – the Jedi Order had seen in centuries; and he had a connection to the Force that already rivalled some of the most powerful Jedi Masters. As the years went by, Bastila slowly worked up the nerve to confess her true feelings to Revan, even if it meant being expelled from the Academy._

_Then the Mandalorians came._

_As Revan's brethren pushed further into Republic space – conquering every world in their path and slaughtering anyone who resisted – Revan and his closest friend Alek Squinquargesimus (nicknamed 'Squint') repeatedly requested that the Council assist the Republic in their war efforts._

_But the Council had insisted that there was a far greater evil behind the Mandalorian threat, and that they could not go to war for fear of exposing themselves to this mysterious enemy. Yet as the Mandalorians won battle after battle, and more Republic worlds fell, Revan's patience with the Council eventually wore out._

_Bastila still remembered the look on Revan's face when he stormed into the Council chambers with Alek at his side. The conversation that had transpired in that room had simply been unreal. As many other Jedi of all ranks gathered to witness what would happen – some with worried looks on their faces, while others seemed excited – Revan continued to walk forward with indescribable purpose in his stride until one of the Masters finally spoke up_

"_Revan, Alek, if the two of you are here to once again ask us to go to war against the Mandalorians, then I suggest that you save your breath and leave, because our decision will not_ _change." Unsurprisingly, it had been Master Vrook who had delivered this lecture._

_With thinning patience in his voice, Revan argued "Masters, the Mandalorians push further into Republic space with each passing day. And with their progress, countless lives – _innocent_ lives – are lost as the Republic lacks the might required to fight these crusaders alone. They need. Our. Help."_

"_Revan," Master Vandar insisted "as we have said before, we sense that there is a much greater threat. One we believe to be the cause of the Mandalorian invasion the Republic fights now. We must remain vigilant for when our true enemy arrives._

_Stepping forward, Alek demanded "Then tell us what this 'true enemy' is, Master. Because until then, the only enemy _I _can see is the one that is invading us _as we speak_, and I'm not the only one here." As he finished speaking, many Padawans – and more than a few Knights – nodded in agreement with his statement._

"Enough!_" Vrook shouted. "Revan, Alek, we have heard all this before, but we will stand by our decision. Now return to your chambers. Moments like these make me think it was a mistake to promote the two of you to the rank of Padawan, let alone _Knight_," He muttered with a pointed glare at Revan. "So early."_

"_No." Revan responded flatly._

"_Excuse me?" Vrook demanded, incredulous at the disrespect being shown to him._

_Stepping forward with barely contained anger in his eyes, Revan snarled "_Every day_, innocent lives are lost to these invaders, yet despite the death, the destruction, and the chaos, you do _nothing _other than _sit _here meditating."_

"_Revan, please," Master Zhar sighed "You are allowing your emotions to dictate your actions; I suggest that you take time to clear your mind and-"_

"NO_!" Revan interrupted "When I became a Jedi, I swore an oath to protect the innocent. Yet it is clear to me that this Council has forgotten that. Well, if doing the right thing for others means that I can't be a Jedi as well, then so be it." With that, Revan ripped off his Knight robes and threw them to the ground like they were filth, leaving him bare-chested. He then announced to everyone in the room "From this moment forth, I, Revan Bloodraven, hereby revoke my title as a Knight of the Jedi Order. I do this so that I may be free to aid the Republic in their fight against the Mandalorian crusaders and neo-crusaders being led by Mandalore the Ultimate, Anyone that has reached the rank of Padawan or higher who wishes to follow me into war may do so, and I will not begrudge those who choose to remain with the Jedi." Bastila stared in disbelief as she saw Revan forsake everything he had worked for for fifteen years. And then she realized the full impact of what he had just told them all; he was going to war. Saying all he had to say, Revan marched out of the Council's chambers with Alek at his side once more, leaving behind him a bewildered Council._

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><p><em>That night, a fourteen year old Bastila Shan had gone to Revan's room, and cried for what seemed like an eternity as she clung to him. "I don't want you to go." She finally managed to sob.<em>

"_Bas," Revan sighed, with much sadness in his own voice. "If the Republic doesn't receive help soon, then there won't _be_ a Republic left to save. I can't just stand by and watch as the Mandalorians massacre entire worlds. As much as it pains me to leave you like this, I _have_ to go."_

_Eventually, Bastila raised her head to look him in the eye. "I... understand." She finally managed to painfully croak out. Realizing that this would be the last time she would see him in years – maybe the last time _ever_– Bastila mustered her courage and finally did something that she'd wanted to do for four years: she kissed Revan._

_Revan's lips were frozen with shock for the first couple of seconds. But just before Bastila could pull away out of sheer embarrassment, Revan began to kiss her back. His lips were indescribably soft to Bastila, and it was better than she could have ever imagined. The two of them lay together with their lips in a chaste kiss for over a minute, locked in each others' embrace, until they finally had pull away so they could breathe. Touching her cheek softly with nothing but affection, Revan smiled "You've wanted to do that for a long time, haven't you?"_

_Her cheeks immediately turning red, Bastila averted her gaze from Revan's eyes and shyly admitted "Yes... since I was ten. It's just, I might never see you again. And... I wanted to know what it was like."_

_Softly turning her head so she would be forced to look into his eyes again, Revan promised her "Bastila, I will do everything in my power to stop the Mandalorians, but I swear to you; I _will_ see you again." With that, the two of them fell silent, and they stayed that way for the rest of the night: not saying a word, simply holding the other in a loving embrace._

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><p><em>It had been difficult for Bastila at first – getting by without Revan to guide her – but eventually she'd learned to cope. But barely a month after Revan had left, while watching the news holos, Bastila and the other Jedi who'd stayed at the Academy were shocked to discover that Revan had led the Republic forces to several major victories over the Mandalorians, and that despite his youth, he had been given direct command over a full third of the entire Republic fleet. They were even more surprised when Revan stood in front of a camera wearing a Mandalorian battle mask, and revealed to them all the genocide the Mandalorians had inflicted on the Cathar people. Revan's name and the massacre of the Cathar quickly became a rallying cry for the Republic people. Within a matter of months, with Revan's tactical genius combined with Alek's – now known as <em>Malak_ – ferocity on the battlefield, the two of them crushed the Mandalorian armies. Eventually the Mandalorians were pushed back to Malachor V, where Revan activated a powerful superweapon that all but completely destroyed the Mandalorians, and where Revan fought the Mandalorian champion, Mandalore the Ultimate, in single combat, and defeated him._

_With the Republic's victory on Malachor V in combination with the death of the Mandalorian leader and the loss of Mandalore's Mask, the Mandalorians gave the Republic their unconditional surrender, with many becoming mercenaries or pirates afterwards. This resulted in most of the Republic soldiers returning home to their families. But Revan took those loyal to him and chased the Mandalorians that had fled into deep space so that they would never pose a threat to the Republic again._

_For years the entire Republic had thought that the heroes Revan and Malak had tragically perished in the Unknown Regions. But eventually they came back – at the head of a Sith fleet. _

Darth_ Revan was proclaimed as the undisputed Dark Lord of the Sith, and Darth Malak as his apprentice. When Bastila – who by now had reached the rank of Padawan – found out that the man she had loved since she was a little girl had not only fallen to the dark side, but was also her greatest enemy, she immediately ran to her room and spent _hours_ sobbing into her pillow. The only way she'd been able to cope was by becoming what Vrook had tried to make her since she'd become his Padawan: emotionally dead._

_A few months after becoming a rather notorious 'ice princess' within the Academy, the Council discovered that Bastila had a strong command over a rare Force power known as battle meditation. They'd tested her power by going to a world where there were several small-scale battles between Republic and Sith forces. There, Bastila had used her gift to strengthen the resolve of the Republic soldiers, while simultaneously lowering the morale of their Sith enemies. The Republic's victory there had been absolute, and since then Bastila had been directly involved in as many major battles as she could. Unfortunately for the Republic however, Revan had lost none of his skills in war tactics during his time in the Unknown Regions, and quickly learned to adapt to Bastila's battle meditation. He compensated by fighting on multiple fronts simultaneously, whereas Bastila was the only real advantage the Republic had – and she could only be in one place at a time. Bastila had even assisted the Republic in a half a dozen battles with Sith forces being led by Revan himself, and although the costs had been great, he'd managed to defeat the Republic in those battles a couple times._

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><p>Bastila hadn't been stopping the Sith invasion, she'd only been slowing it down. The Jedi Council and the Republic's generals knew this, and as the Sith war machine pressed on, they were beginning to get desperate. Fortunately for them, the Republic had intercepted a Sith transmission that informed where Revan would be heading in a week's time. So they had prepared a trap in which a Republic fleet would engage Revan's upon his arrival. And while he was occupied, Bastila and a small team consisting of the Jedi and Republic commandos around her now would board Revan's flagship in order to capture him. Yet for the two years she'd spent in an apathetic state of mind, Bastila was feeling uneasy with the knowledge that soon she would face Revan again. Her thoughts were interrupted as Master Kar-Thun spoke up. "Bastila, it's time to go. Revan's fleet will be arriving soon." Bottling up any emotions she may or may not have had, Bastila nodded, and grabbed her lightsaber.<p>

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><p>As the boarding shuttle made a hasty crash-landing into the <em>Avenger's<em> docking bay, the only thing that kept anyone on board the shuttle in their chairs was their tightly secured seatbelts. As soon as they recovered from the initial crash, they all immediately got out of their seats and grabbed their weapons as quickly as they could. The boarding team then got out of the ship to find several Dark Jedi and Sith troopers running towards them with their lightsabers drawn and their guns blazing. Bastila activated her lightsaber to deflect a few bolts – killing one of the Sith troopers – and was quickly engaged in lightsaber battle with a furious but inexperienced Dark Jedi. Bastila cut him down in a matter of seconds, and then spun to find that all the other Sith were already dead as well, though unfortunately they had lost one of the commandos.

Leaving three other commandos and two Jedi Knights to protect the ship so that they had an escape plan, Bastila and the rest of the boarding team pressed on towards the _Avenger's_ bridge where they figured they would find Darth Revan.

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><p>Getting to the <em>Avenger's<em> bridge had been incredibly difficult – they'd lost all the commandos, and over half of the Jedi – but they were there. Master Kar-Thun warned them "Alright everyone, be careful. I can sense Revan in that room somewhere, as well as at least a dozen Sith officers. Remember to stay strong, and that the Force fights with us today. _For the Jedi!_" With that, the four Jedi opened the doors and stepped onto the bridge with their lightsabers drawn.

The Jedi were surprised to see the Sith officers that Kar-Thun mentioned barely acknowledging their presence as they carried on with their combat duties. However, they were even more surprised when they saw over a dozen men armed with electrostaves walking towards them. For a second Bastila wondered how she or even Master Kar-Thun had not detected them, until she remembered the rumours about Revan's bodyguards; their purpose was to protect Revan from any assassination attempts from Dark Jedi seeking to usurp Revan's power, and to do so they had been trained to resist the Force itself. The bodyguards continued to walk towards them until they were only about five meters away. The four Jedi prepared themselves for battle until a bodyguard with a red stripe on his right shoulder – signifying him as the commander – stepped forward, and after running a calm, calculating eye over them announced "Lord Revan will now see you in his meditation chambers."

Unable to contain his surprise at the bodyguard leader's statement, a Knight named Narruk gaped "What? You're telling me that Revan's been _waiting _for us?"

Not responding, the bodyguards walked over to the far end of the bridge, where the commander pointed to a reinforced blast door. He then strictly told the Jedi "Go, Lord Revan does not like to be kept waiting."

As Bastila and the other Jedi slowly walked towards the door that Revan was behind, Master Kar-Thun nodded to them all, then opened the door. Before them they saw Darth Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith, calmly meditating sitting down with his legs crossed. As the four Jedi cautiously walked into the room, Revan simply continued to sit there. Then, when the doors finally closed he raised his hooded and masked head to look at them and politely said "Master Kar-Thun, Knights Narruk and Henshayne, and... Padawan Bastila Shan, greetings. I have been expecting you."

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><p><strong>First Chapter's done. What do you guys think so far? Rate and review please.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, thanks for the favourites and everything else I've gotten so far, but I'd really appreciate more reviews (thanks a lot to those that have reviewed).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Knights of the Old Republic**

**Chapter 2: Reunion**

Stepping forward defiantly, Bastila shouted "You cannot win, Revan!"

Standing to meet them eye to eye, Revan responded "Bastila, please, put that blade down. I simply wish to talk." After a moment's hesitation, Bastila reluctantly deactivated her lightsaber, and her comrades eventually did as well.

"What do you want, Revan, what game are you trying to play?" Master Kar-Thun demanded.

"I do not wish to spill unnecessary blood, Kar-Thun. As I said: I just want to talk. But if any of you desire to fight, I will oblige you. I simply request that first you hear what I have to say. And before any of you ask, no I am _not_ going to try to turn you to the dark side – you have my word."

"What could you possibly want to talk about, _Sith_?" Henshayne spat, fury in her eyes.

"There are a great number of factors in this war that none of you are aware of, I merely wish to open your eyes so that you see the whole picture." Revan answered, with no hint of resentment at Henshayne's insult.

Trying to detect any form of trickery from the Dark Lord, and finding none, Master Kar-Thun sighed "Very well, Revan, I will hear what you have to say. But the moment something happens that's even _peripherally_ related to the dark side, I will not hesitate to attack you."

"Fair enough, Master Kar-Thun." Revan nodded in satisfaction "I thank you all for this leap of faith. Come with me."

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><p>Revan took the four Jedi to a room filled with data files and computers. While his bodyguards waited just outside the doors, Revan walked towards a terminal, then turned around to face the Jedi. "Do any of you remember why the Jedi Council refused to go to war with the Mandalorians?"<p>

Narruk answered "They said that there was a greater evil behind the Mandalorians, and that the Jedi Order must remain vigilant for it."

"That is correct, Narruk." Revan muttered. "And during my time in the Unknown Regions while chasing the Mandalorians, Malak and I eventually came upon a planet called Dromund Kaas. It was on that world where we found the ancient evil that the Council spoke of."

Surprised at his confession, Bastila curiously asked "Revan, what was this evil?"

"I will answer that shortly, Bastila." Revan responded. "But first, can one of you tell me how the Great Hyperspace War ended?"

This time it was Henshayne who answered his question. "The Supreme Chancellor ordered for the entire Sith Empire to be completely wiped out so they would never threaten the Republic again."

"I'm afraid you're only partially correct, Henshayne," Before she could voice her objections, Revan elaborated. "While the Chancellor did indeed order for the Sith to wiped out, apparently a small population of their Empire managed to escape the Republic's onslaught, and fled into deep space. They eventually came to Dromund Kaas, and ever since then, the _True_ Sith have been rebuilding their Empire, and plotting their revenge against the Republic."

The Jedi before him all had horrified looks on their faces at this revelation. And to prove his statements Revan activated holograms showing warriors, cities, fleets, and even entire worlds controlled by the True Sith. Continuing his story, Revan explained, "When we discovered what lay on Dromund Kaas, Malak and I discreetly made our way down to the planet alone under the guise of mercenaries. When we learned who they were and what they were planning, we fought our way to the chambers of the Sith Emperor himself... He is powerful, more so than any of you can imagine. Never before, and never since that day have I met an enemy that could that could hope to defeat me, but he beat me _and_ Malak without even drawing his blade. He used the power of the dark side to bend us to his will, and turned us both into his pawns. He then sent the two of us back to Republic space to find an ancient weapon that he would use to accelerate his plans for revenge by centuries. But he underestimated my will, and eventually, with the Force on my side, I was able to reclaim my freedom."

He then faced the bewildered Jedi in front of him, and then added in a serious tone "Strange as it may sound to you, my sole objective is the protection of the Republic and its people. If the Emperor's plans come to fruition, none of us will survive. The only hope we have is for the Republic to strike before the True Sith can begin their invasion. Yet the Republic is an exhausted, bleeding _beast_, waiting to roll over and die. The Senate proved this during the Mandalorian Wars. If I hadn't come along, the Republic would've been destroyed before the True Sith had even really attacked. To make sure that it is strong enough to face this enemy, I _must_ rebuild it from its own ashes."

Her mind still reeling from what she had just been shown, Bastila gaped "Why didn't you tell the Council about this, Revan? Surely _they_ should have been informed of an enemy of this magnitude! They could have done something about it!"

"Bastila," Revan sighed in exasperation, "I_ tried_ to tell the Council; After I freed my mind from the Emperor's domination, I contacted them using a holocomm, and gave them the same data I've just shown all of you. But before I had finished my _first sentence_, they said I had been corrupted by the dark side, and labelled me a Sith. I left them the data, but I'm guessing they destroyed it without even looking at it. I tried to inform the Senate as well, but the Council had already told them not to listen to anything that I had to say. After that, I lost whatever remnants of trust I had placed in the Jedi Council and the Galactic Republic. So since then, I have sought to not only reform the Republic, but the Jedi as well." With that, the Dark Lord of the Sith slowly looked at the four people before him one by one, and told them in no uncertain terms "At this moment, I don't know where any you stand. I have given you the facts – It's up to you to decide what to do with them. Now, either join me, fight me, or go."

After thinking carefully for a minute, Master Kar-Thun finally announced "You have given us much to think about, Revan. I will take my comrades, and we will present this information to the Council."

Nodding in understanding, Revan grabbed a data-disk from a terminal and passed it to the Jedi Master. "Here, you might actually have a chance of opening the Council's eyes if you have proof. I will have half of my bodyguards escort you and your companions to your ship, and you will be allowed to leave peacefully." He then added "Save for Bastila."

"What do you mean?" She immediately demanded.

"You have delayed my plans for a significant amount of time Bastila. Time I could have been using to plot the downfall of the True Sith on Dromund Kaas. For that reason, and others, I am going to be keeping you on this ship for a while." Noticing the fearful expression she was wearing, Revan quickly told her "I assure you Bastila, while you are on my ship you will be treated as an honoured guest."

Henshayne activated her lightsaber, to which Revan responded by warning her "Henshayne, for your own sake please put that blade down. I have no desire to kill you."

"Bastila is the key to the entire Republic war effort." The Knight muttered. She had never trusted Revan in the slightest, and until now had merely been following Master Kar-Thun's orders. But she would _not_ allow Revan to take the one hope the Republic had while she had breath in her body.

Without another word, Henshayne struck at the Dark Lord with all her might. Yet an instant before her lightsaber could hit him, Revan's own crimson blade appeared in his hands and intercepted her strike. Henshayne attacked the Dark Lord with every bit of skill she had. Yet Revan continued to deflect every blow with only his sword arm moving, as though it were the most casual thing he had ever done. He allowed her to continue attacking for several seconds, but then realized that Henshayne refused to accept defeat. With a tired sigh, Revan used to Force to open the doors leading to the hallway, then Force pushed her into the wall so hard she was immediately knocked out.

The three remaining Jedi went to activate their blades, but realized it would be suicide when Revan's bodyguards walked into the room. Facing the commander, Revan ordered "Maddraath, have half of your men escort these two Jedi and that unconscious one back to their ship. Make sure that no one in the fleet attacks them in any way." With a nod, six of the bodyguards instantly began to take the Jedi back to where they had boarded the _Avenger_. A few minutes after they left, Revan took his remaining bodyguards, and had them all escort Bastila to his meditation chambers, all except for Commander Maddraath.

Once Bastila left the room, Revan instantly asked his most loyal and trusted soldier "How do the rest of your men fare with their mission?"

Not wasting a second, the commander immediately responded "While you were talking with the Jedi, my men that were undercover on the _Leviathan_ heard Malak order his officers to fire on your bridge. They killed everyone they found that would have taken part in your apprentice's cowardly plot, and incapacitated Malak. There were no casualties on our side."

Smiling, Revan put a hand on his friend's shoulder and said "That is good to hear, old friend." Maddraath responded by allowing his lips to slightly curve upward at hearing his lord's praise. Revan continued "Get your men off that ship, and have them imprison Malak in the maximum security section of the brig. Also give the orders for every ship in the fleet to open fire on the _Leviathan_ as soon as everyone is a safe distance away." With that, the two of them returned to the _Avenger's_ bridge, with Maddraath talking to a communications officer to relay Revan's orders, and Revan himself entering his meditation chambers where Bastila was.

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><p>Bastila nervously got to her feet as soon as she saw Revan enter the room. He calmly sat down, and once she followed suit he told her "You are far too tense, Bastila. Meditate, it will help you relax."<p>

But Bastila was having difficulty trying to meditate in a place that was strong with the dark side. Revan saw this, and it concerned him. With a bit of effort, Revan summoned a small ball of light in his hands. He then told the Padawan in front of him "Look at the light, Bastila... focus on it. Feel the clarity it offers... let it wash over you, and through you. Remember that sense of calmness... focus on it. Now meditate."

Bastila instantly found herself completely enraptured by Revan's soothing tone, and easily followed his commands. _'I'm surprised that Revan could even summon that light. He may be powerful, but he wouldn't be able to that unless... unless there is still the light side in him!'_ Unable to help herself, Bastila focused her willpower and looked at Revan through the Force. She discovered that initially he was surrounded by a sea of darkness, but further in he began to turn grey.

And at his core was a very small light, yet it was the cleanest and purest light Bastila had ever seen in her life.

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><p><strong>Sorry this chapter is so short guys, but this is simply a good cliff-hanger. I promise I'll do everything I can to make all future chapters as big as possible. I'm aware that many of you are going to have questions, such as how Revan knew Malak was going to betray him. I'll explain that in the next chapter.<strong>

**Once again, how is this looking so far? Rate and review please (especially review).**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, thanks for all the favourites and reviews, and I'm hoping for more! Sorry about being AWOL for so long, but I haven't given up on this story, and I don't plan to.**

**Just so you know, those of you that have played multiple Bioware games may recognize a few slightly rewritten quotes in this chapter – what can I say, Bioware's got some damn good writers.**

**Chapter 3: Regret**

Bastila and Revan continued to meditate for nearly an hour, until Bastila finally asked a question she couldn't get out of her head "Revan, did you know that the other Jedi and I would be coming before you even got here?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I _let_ the Republic intercept that transmission. As for how they would react, I simply imagined what I would do if I received that kind of information, while keeping in mind the sort of values and tactics that the Jedi Council tends to use. They are rather predictable in some areas." After a pause he admitted "Although, I do regret the deaths of both my men and the men of the Republic in that battle, in _every_ battle. I will need every soldier I can get to stop the True Sith, and many of the people dying in war were men who didn't deserve their fate. But... this is war, and so sacrifices need to be made."

With that, the two of them fell silent as they returned to their meditations. Then, after several minutes Revan announced "It has been good to meditate with you again, Bastila, even if the circumstances were less than preferable. But I am the lord of this army, and there are many matters that require my attention. You may stay here for as long as you like, and then I will have one of my men take you to your new quarters. Or you may come with me now."

Bastila decided to go with Revan to see if she could learn anything that might be useful to the Republic in case she escaped – or at least that's what she told herself. Bastila knew that Revan would prepare for any information she might leak to the Republic. In reality, she was simply curious.

The Dark Lord walked onto the bridge of the _Avenger_ with Bastila close behind. He then looked at one of his officers, and ordered "Bring him up here."

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><p>The door to the bridge opened, and a squadron of elite Sith troopers pushed in their prisoner: Darth Malak. He was wearing a specially designed neural disruptor around his neck. Normal ones completely incapacitated a person, whereas this one left a person physically unaffected. Instead, it cut off Malak's command of the Force completely.<p>

Bastila gasped when she saw his eyes; the once brown orbs had long since been turned yellow by the corruption of the Dark side, and the only thing in them other than raw darkness was an unfathomable hate. When Malak was brought before his master and forced to his knees, the only thing he said was "How?"

Revan responded "Ever since what you did to Telos, I knew I couldn't trust you. So I had a monitoring device secretly implanted in that metal jaw of yours when it was made."

Bastila remembered what had happened to Telos – Revan had wanted to take control of the planet, and had sent Malak's fleet to do so. But when Malak arrived, instead of conquering Telos, he destroyed it.

Malak had altered Revan's orders, and had his ships bombard the planet until every building on it had been reduced to rubble. According to rumours, when Revan found out what Malak had done, he'd been so angry that he'd personally beaten Malak to the brink of death, and then severed his apprentice's jaw with a single stroke of his lightsaber so that Malak would never forget the price of disobedience.

Malak then looked up at the Dark Lord and coldly muttered "You know it is the way of the Sith for apprentices to betray their masters. It is our way of ensuring that the strongest of us always rules."

Revan angrily retorted "That may indeed be the way of the Sith, apprentice. But rather than _challenge_ me you would have simply had your ships fire on me when I couldn't defend myself. And _that_ tells me that you are weak and afraid." When he looked at Malak again, the hate was still there, but also defeat and shame. Revan then ordered "Take him back to maximum security, he will receive his fate another day." The elite troopers immediately dragged Malak out the doors.

Revan then turned towards his bodyguards – all twenty of them – then ordered "Commander Maddraath, have Lieutenant Commander Kravveth and three others escort the Padawan to her new chambers. They will serve as her bodyguards while she is on the _Avenger_." Kravveth and the three men closest to him instantly moved towards Bastila, and the Lieutenant Commander motioned for her to follow him.

* * *

><p>Part of Bastila had been expecting her quarters to barely be better than a prison cell. But what she was seeing was the sort of thing one would expect to be given to <em>royalty<em>. She turned to the men who had escorted her here, and gaped "_These_ are my quarters?"

"Yes. If these chambers are not to your taste, or if you find anything lacking, you may place a requisition order or request new chambers you find more preferable." Kravveth responded in a dutiful tone.

Bastila looked at the suite of rooms she had been given again, and then asked "Why would Revan give me rooms like these? Aren't I his prisoner?"

The Lieutenant Commander answered "Though there are certain areas of the ship that you will not be granted access to for security purposes, Lord Revan's orders were for you to be treated as an honoured guest."

* * *

><p>During her time on the <em>Avenger<em>, Bastila had been treated to every type of luxury imaginable, and each one was finer than anything she'd ever experienced in her life. Yet she constantly reminded herself that she was Revan's prisoner, and that she was a servant of the light side. After four days though, she decided that she wanted to speak with Revan and find out what he was up to. She went to the door leading to the rest of the _Avenger_, and as always, there was Lieutenant Commander Kravveth and her three other 'bodyguards' standing attentively just outside her doors. She went up to Kravveth and told him "I want to speak to Revan. Now."

The bodyguards immediately escorted her to the _Avenger's_ bridge. And there, Bastila saw Darth Revan standing at the opposite end, gazing out the window into deep space.

Bastila walked forward to him, and was just about to speak when Revan suddenly muttered without turning "Ah, Bastila. I was just about to send for you. Come, we'll be arriving at Coruscant within the hour."

Bastila completely forgot why she'd wanted to speak with Revan as she turned to him and asked in a horrified tone "You're invading the Core Worlds?"

Revan slightly turned towards her and told her "I'm not attacking them." When her horror was replaced by confusion he explained "Ever since you came aboard the _Avenger_, the Republic has become... much more agreeable in certain areas. We're actually on our way to Coruscant in an attempt to reach a more diplomatic solution. If you're wondering why I'm bringing a fleet, it is simply to guarantee that they don't attack me."

"You mean if they attack you or if the meeting doesn't go your way, then you'll have your fleet destroy the planet." Bastila muttered angrily.

"I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that, Bastila. If my soldiers are forced to follow those orders, many innocents will die. Remember that our true enemy lurks on Dromund Kaas, but the Republic and the Jedi refuse to heed my warnings." After a sigh he admitted "To be honest, I'm not expecting this meeting with the Senate to go well, but it could save lives – it's worth a try." After a moment he turned to Bastila and told her in a forceful tone "You'll be coming to the meeting with me. Return to your chambers and grab anything that you think you will need."

* * *

><p>As the Dark Lord of the Sith departed from his shuttle with his twenty bodyguards and an entire platoon of elite troopers in tow, Bastila was glad that she was obscured by all the bodyguards so the people here couldn't see her. What would the Senate think of her when they saw her? She had a bit of an idea as the people looked at Darth Revan with raw hate in their eyes. But none would dare attack him with so many guards around him and his entire fleet in orbit.<p>

They continued through the Senate Dome, and walked right into the Grand Convocation Chamber, where the entire Senate waited. The Supreme Chancellor sat in his thirty metre podium, with his Staff Aid, the Vice Chair, the Senate Scribe, Journal Clerk, Parliamentarian, and Sergeant at Arms at his side. Revan left his bodyguards waiting outside the door, and walked into the pod that had been put aside for him with only Commander Maddraath and Bastila at his side. Bastila saw the Senators' eyes widen as she came into view, and looked at the ground in shame.

Revan stepped forward and politely announced "Chancellor, Senators, I thank you for agreeing to meet me here today."

A Senator instantly shouted "What do you want, Revan, why are you here today? Is this your way of conquering Coruscant – coming here under a false banner of peace and-"

"_Silence_!" The Chancellor ordered. "We will have order. Revan, the Sith are not known for their diplomacy, tell us why you have come here."

Revan asked "Chancellor, do you remember when I tried to meet with this Senate two years ago?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" The Chancellor muttered suspiciously.

Revan responded "During my time in the Unknown Regions while chasing the remnants of the Mandalorian armies, I encountered a threat to this galaxy far greater than any it has seen in a thousand years. But when I returned to warn you, you all said I had been corrupted without even listening. An ironic accusation considering how most of the mercenaries and assassins in this star system would be out of work if it weren't for you."

Bastila stared at Revan, both amazed and horrified that he would say this to the Senate's face. Yet she was even more so of each when she noticed more than a few Senators flinching at this statement before one of them spat "How _dare _you slander us like this! We should-"

"Ah yes, Senator Pathadrik," Revan interrupted, "of course _you_ have never contracted an assassin. But something tells me that the late Ms. Machenko would say something very different, if she could." As he finished speaking, Pathadrik quieted, and sat back down, looking like he'd just seen a ghost.

His voice suddenly being filled with impatience, contempt, and anger, Revan spat "None of you are any different from him. Like fat, pampered Hutts; you feed, and feed, and complain only when your precious meal is interrupted! You do not look up; you do not see the suffering that is around you all each and every day! All you leave in your wake is misery! You are blind... _I_ will _make_ you see!" Revan suddenly turned to face the doors and muttered "But it appears that we have guests." Then he opened the doors to reveal Masters Zhar Lestin, Dorak, Vrook Lamar, Atris, Kavar, Zez-Kai Ell, Lonna Vash, and even Vandar Torkare. Revan's personal bodyguards were all prepared for battle, and Bastila saw Maddraath grip his own weapon. But none of them would attack unless the Councillors stuck first, or if Revan ordered them to.

Walking towards the Masters without any trace of uncertainty, Revan muttered impatiently "Greetings, Masters. I was expecting you to come." He then looked each one in the eye and muttered "You each have strength, courage, compassion, honour, loyalty, and integrity. Yet in spite of all this, in the end, you are no different from this pathetic excuse for a Senate: _you do not see_. Two years ago, I came back from the Unknown Regions to tell you that the Sith of the Great Hyperspace War _survived_ the Republic's attempt to wipe them out. They have rebuilt their empire, and for nearly a thousand years, they have plotted their revenge. Four days ago, I gave Master Kar-Thun evidence of this, and he said that he would present it to you. Yet I can sense that once again, you have not heeded my warnings. The cores of both the Jedi and the Republic are _weak_. I will burn them both to the ground and rebuild them a thousand times over if it means defeating the True Sith." As he concluded his speech, Bastila saw a different expression in each Master's face; contempt; fear; shock; thoughtfulness; anger; uncertainty; respect; and wonder. Master Atris stepped forward with her hand snaking towards her belt until Revan angrily muttered "Atris, I know all too well that you've never liked me. But if you draw your blade now the only thing you will accomplish is the deaths of countless innocents."

Atris reluctantly lowered her hand and grumbled "It would have been better for this galaxy if you'd been caught in the blast that destroyed Malachor V, Revan. You were always so _proud_ of yourself and your accomplishments. Form the moment I first saw you, I knew that you would fall to the dark side eventually. Yet even I never imagined you would one day become the Dark Lord of the Sith."

Amazed, Revan muttered "You heard nothing of what I just said, didn't you Atris? Every time I attempt to open your eyes and show you the very threat you once warned me of, you call me a Sith and say that I corrupt the very air I breath. Whenever I attempt to reason with you people – Council and Senate alike – you remind me why I went to war in the first place. Which I suppose I should be thankful for, in some twisted way." Revan looked each Councillor in the eye, then turned around and spoke to the Supreme Chancellor "It is unfortunate that you people have once again allowed your pride to get in the way, but to be honest I expected it. But since you have refused to hear me out, it is impossible to achieve true peace this way."

As he walked out the doors, the Chancellor suddenly yelled "Revan, wait! There is still a chance for-"

"_No._" Revan declared, spinning around. When he next spoke, his voice was low and dangerous, yet the room was so quiet that everyone in the Senate could hear him "_My operations are too crucial to be compromised by scheming politicians that have never come to a consensus._" Revan looked as though he were about to leave again, but then he announced "Before I go, I will leave you two things. First: know that even though this war will go on, there will be no battle this day – so long as you do not attack me or my men – you have my word. As for the second thing... Maddraath, have them bring him in." Less than a minute later, the Senate was shocked to see two of the Troopers that Revan had brought with him dragging forward Darth Malak. When they dropped Malak – who landed with a painful groan – Revan spoke up again "Second: Malak tried to betray me during your little trap four days ago. He would have had his ship fire on mine while I was speaking with the Jedi that were aboard my ship. Normally I would have killed him for such a cowardly form of treason, but what he did to Telos was simply unforgivable. So I am now giving him to the Republic so they may decide his fate and give the people of Telos justice."

Before anyone could respond, Revan took his bodyguards and exited the Senate Hall, and Bastila was shocked to find herself following him even though no one had specifically told her to do so. Yet she could tell that Revan would be keeping her with him, yet if someone had asked her how she knew, she wouldn't have been able to respond.

* * *

><p>Bastila nervously approached Revan with a question that she just couldn't get out of her head ever since she'd walked onto the shuttle that took her back to the <em>Avenger<em>. She was debating in her head whether or not she should ask the question for fear of what the answer might be, until Revan turned around and asked in a soft tone "Bastila, what's on your mind? Something is troubling you, I can sense it."

Realizing that she had no choice but to ask the question now, Bastila whispered "Revan... since you gave Malak to the Republic... you don't have an apprentice anymore." When Revan gestured for her to continue, Bastila asked in a fearful tone "Are you... going to make _me_ your apprentice?"

"No."

Bastila released a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding, then asked in a slightly confused tone "Why not?"

Turning slightly away from her, Revan sighed "Bastila, just look at what happened to Malak. When he fell to the dark side, it consumed him. I was unable to do anything other than watch as the darkness killed the man that had fearlessly followed me into war. Alek would have _never_ destroyed Telos. By the Force, if I had done something like that he would have brought me to justice _immediately_. My friend did not survive the encounter with the Sith Emperor, just his body. The monstrosity that was my apprentice was some cruel, twisted version of him created by the dark side. I will _not _let that happen to you, Bastila. I would rather die."

Bastila found herself overcome with affection, and was about to embrace Revan out of relief until an ensign came forward "Lord Revan, Republic transmissions indicate that your former apprentice, Darth Malak, was put on trial by the Republic Senate approximately half an hour after your meeting with them ended. He was charged with treason, conspiracy to commit treason, war crimes, genocide, and over five dozen lesser crimes. The transmissions claim that just over one hour ago, he was sentenced to death by firing squad, and executed eighteen minutes later. The execution itself was apparently recorded by an anonymous person, and broadcasted over the HoloNet."

After a moment, Revan turned toward the ensign and muttered "Thank you, you may return to you post." The ensign quickly saluted, and walked back towards her terminal.

Revan then turned and began walking to where his private chambers were. Bastila followed him, sensing that he was troubled by this news for some reason, and thinking that perhaps she could comfort him. As soon as the doors to his room shut, Revan tore off his mask and threw it against the wall like he'd never wanted to wear it to begin with. Bastila put her hand on his arm and asked in a tone that was both confused and comforting "Revan, what's wrong? Whatever it is, you can tell me." Then as Revan began to turn his unmasked face towards her, the Jedi in Bastila expected his eyes to be like Malak's: yellow, corrupt, and utterly evil, while the little girl in her waited to see the caring eyes of her old friend and mentor.

Bastila saw neither.

Instead, Revan's eyes were completely empty. Bastila gasped as she realized that rather than looking at a man or a monster, she was looking at a shell filled with more pain and sorrow than she could have ever imagined, driven only by necessity. So many people in the galaxy thought that Revan wore his mask to instil fear in his enemies, but its true purpose was to hide how close Revan came to succumbing to his regret every second of every day.

Revan was the saddest man Bastila had ever seen in her life.

She felt even more sympathy when she heard his voice; it showed no trace of the fire he'd seemed to embody that had left both the Republic Senate and the Jedi Council utterly speechless. His voice now embodied the statue of sorrow he truly was. "Bastila, what do you want me to say? ...What can I say? ...I just sent my oldest friend to his death. Please, Bastila, show mercy on a broken warrior's soul, and leave me to my grief."


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it's been so long since my last update, but part of me thinks that unfortunately you guys are going to have to get somewhat used to this. You see, I've got other stories as well, and even then, in order to write a good story, you really have to be in the **_**mood **_**to write. Anyway, I think I've wasted enough time for now. Let's just get on with the chapter.**

**Disclaimer:**** KOTOR belongs to Bioware, and Lucas Arts**

**Chapter 4: Reconnect**

Bastila hardly got any sleep that night. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't forget the look she'd seen in Revan's eyes. Until then, a part of her had always thought that Revan was on some sort of mad quest for power, and that he would take it by any means necessary. But his eyes had revealed the truth to her: he sought to _unite_ the galaxy, not conquer it. And he was desperately trying to protect as many people as he could against the greatest threat the Republic had seen since the Dark Lord Naga Sadow… perhaps even greater.

Yet Bastila knew that although his goal was noble, the means required to reach it deserved a very different word. And Revan hated himself for it. He was fighting this war against the Republic and the Jedi because he had tried every possible alternative, and they had all failed miserably; despite his incredible command of the Force, he hadn't been able to defeat the Sith Emperor alone; when he'd tried to appeal to the Republic and the Jedi for help, those _idiots_ had refused to listen.

Revan was carrying a burden greater than anyone could imagine, and only Bastila knew what it was doing to him.

'_But he doesn't have to carry it alone.'_ Bastila thought to herself. That night, Bastila promised herself that she would help Revan any way that she could. And she made this decision because the man that she had kissed on Dantooine seven years ago was somewhere within that void.

* * *

><p>When Bastila awoke the next morning, the first thing she did was ask Kravveth where Revan was, who was apparently in his meditation chambers. Bastila quickly made her way over there, and went inside as soon as she received permission from Commander Maddraath.<p>

Inside the room, Bastila saw Revan, masked. He was the perfect picture of calm, but then again that was one of the reasons he wore the mask in the first place. Who knew what his face was like underneath it?

Without moving in any way the eye could detect, the Dark Lord muttered "Bastila, what are you doing here?"

"I was hoping that I could meditate here, if you don't mind. I find it easier to do so here, and… I wanted to speak with you." She admitted. Revan simply sat there, and so she took it as consent to stay. Bastila took a seat, and quickly fell into a state of serenity. She hadn't been entirely honest when telling Revan why she preferred to meditate in this room. She'd gotten used to the _Avenger_ enough to meditate in her own quarters somewhat comfortably. But something about Revan's presence allowed her mind to be truly be at peace. The other day, Revan had told her that he would die rather than let Bastila fall to the dark side of the Force, and Bastila knew that Revan would do everything he could in order to protect her, no matter what form danger took.

Simply put; ever since Bastila had discovered Revan's true intentions, being near the man made her feel safer than she could remember since before the Mandalorian War.

Revan allowed her to meditate peacefully – oblivious to the effect he had on the young woman – until he felt she was ready to speak. "Bastila, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

Bastila didn't respond at first, trying to think of way to voice her statement in a way that wouldn't distress him. Eventually she settled with "I wanted to see how you were doing, Revan. You did not look well after our last conversation." Bastila instantly berated herself mentally, thinking that there was at least a thousand ways that statement could have sounded better.

"I appreciate your concern, Bastila, but it is not necessary." Revan assured her. "Make no mistake, it pained me greatly to send my friend to his death yesterday, but it had to be done. Now at least, I can take comfort in the fact that the galaxy is a safer place with Malak dead, and that Alek is at peace now that he is truly one with the Force."

When Bastila put on a slightly confused expression, Revan explained "Keep in mind, Bastila, Alek and Malak were two different people who lived in the same body. And I will remember both for who they were."

His answer relieved some of Bastila's concern for Revan. But she knew that although he'd come to terms with the final fate of his former apprentice and friend, there was still much on his shoulders. "That's not the only thing that's troubling you though, is it, Revan?" Before he could respond, she muttered "No don't bother answering. I already know the burden you bear… And I wanted to let you know, that if there's _anything_ I can do to help you, I'll do it."

Revan simply sat there as though he were a statue. Then he eventually muttered "You would turn your back on the Republic and the Jedi – everything you know and love – to help _me_; the Dark Lord of the Sith?"

Without hesitation, Bastila responded "You are no Sith, Revan. The Sith Emperor scarred your soul with the taint of the dark side, and that scar was the only thing the Council saw, so they labeled you a Sith. They see everything as being either black or white, but the colour grey does exist."

Revan sighed "If you join me, Bastila, you will have to sacrifice much of that which is dear to you. And innocents have suffered, even _died,_ because of what I have done and will keep doing. And they died simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"You said it yourself, Revan: This is war, and so sacrifices need to be made. You've already lost everything trying to fight the True Sith, and I have no right to just stand by while you and others fight for our very survival. If I have to lose some of what I care about to protect all of it, then so be it." After a short pause she continued "And if I assist you, Revan, it will help ensure that fewer innocents have to suffer. You carry a heavy burden, Revan, and ever since Alek died on Dromund Kaas, you've carried it alone… Let me carry it with you." Bastila begged.

Revan seemed as though it pained him to even look at his childhood friend. "The path you are asking to go down is a dangerous one… I don't want to lose you to the darkness."

Bastila got up, and walked forward until she could sit down right in front of the Dark Lord. She then softly took his face in her hands, and turned his face towards her. Bastila then slowly grabbed his mask, and removed it.

Bastila looked into the pain-filled eyes of the first man she'd ever loved, and told him "I believe, that I will, not, fall. Not while _you_ watch over me, Revan. Not while _you_ lead us."

Before Revan could say anything, Bastila kissed him. It was the first time she'd kissed anyone since the night Revan left the Jedi seven years ago.

But this time, Revan did not kiss her back.

Instead, he stopped Bastila almost as soon as she began, then separated himself from her and reattached his mask. He then walked out of his meditation chambers. But just before he opened the doors, while facing away from Bastila, he said to her "I'm weaker than you think, Bastila. Every day, I hide behind a mask."

And then Revan left her in the room, alone.

* * *

><p>Bastila left Revan's meditation chambers with a single goal in mind. Revan had told her that he was weaker than she thought. She was going to make Revan realize that he was stronger than <em>he<em> thought.

She just had to figure out how she was going to do that.

She stepped onto the bridge, and there was Revan; gazing out into space; deep in thought; surrounded by his bodyguards. She took a step toward him.

Then suddenly the doors leading to the rest of the ship opened, and over two dozen Dark Jedi walked into the room. Led by a Sith Lord.

Revan's elite bodyguards were instantly alert, and Revan himself slowly turned towards the Dark Jedi as he sensed them enter the room. He looked at the Sith Lord, then coldly muttered "Lord Bandon, I do not recall summoning you, or any of the others next to you."

Bandon snarled "Revan, we-"

"_Lord_ Revan." Maddraath interrupted.

"Did you just _correct_ me, cur?" Bandon demanded.

"You will refer to the Dark Lord as either Lord Revan, or my lord. Is that understood?"

Bandon spat "He is _not_ my 'lord', he is not worthy to be the Dark Lord of the Sith."

The only thing that kept the bodyguards from charging Bandon and tearing him limb from limb was their sheer discipline to not attack without Revan ordering them to.

Ignoring the murderous stares from Revan's bodyguards, Bandon ranted. "A _true_ Sith Lord would not keep a Jedi aboard his ship as an honoured guest. A _true_ Sith would not show kindness or mercy to the single advantage the Jedi once had when it was within his grasp. And most importantly: _no_ Sith, let alone the Dark Lord, would ever even consider having talks of _peace_ with our enemy when we could easily crush them! You are weak, Revan, and only the strong may rule the Sith. I have come here to take the mantle of Dark Lord from you, and bring about a new age of darkness upon the galaxy!"

Revan chuckled - it was a laugh without a trace of humour. "And it looks like you figured I'd be too much for you to handle by yourself, so you brought some backup."

"The Dark Jedi next to me are those who also recognize the taint of weakness about you!"

"You mean they're the only ones you could find that were actually stupid enough to go up against me. Yet I'm afraid that it still isn't enough to even get past half of my bodyguards." The Dark Lord then spoke to all of Bandon's followers "You're uncertain, you're tense, you're _afraid_. I can sense it in each and every one of you."

It became apparent that the Dark Lord's words were having an effect on the would-be traitors, as one fell to his knees and cried "My lord, please forgive me. I never should have even considered doing this. I beg you, let me walk out of this room and I will serve you more faithfully than any other until I am dead!"

"You won't be walking out at all."

The kneeling Dark Jedi recoiled, and begged "My lord! I'll never do anything like this again! I swear-"

"You sealed your fate the moment you agreed to this idiotic attempt at a coup, all of you did." Revan retorted contemptuously. The fear he'd mentioned was now becoming clear as the Dark Jedi began shifting and glancing around, looking for anything that could possibly help them. One even turned tail and ran for the doors, but Revan quickly sealed them shut with the Force.

Figuring that these idiots had lived long enough, Maddraath requested in a professional tone "My lord, permission to dispose of these traitors?"

"No."

Despite his discipline, the commander of the bodyguards couldn't help turning towards his lord in surprise. All he could manage was "My lord?"

Revan walked forward, and facing Lord Bandon, muttered "Tell your men to stand down, Commander. I will deal with these fools myself. These traitors will serve as an example, and remind the Dark Jedi that I am the lord of this army because _I, am, the strongest_!"

With that, Revan drew his blood-red lightsaber. Realizing that it was either fight or die, the Dark Jedi did the same. Several of them fired Force lightning at the Dark Lord, but Revan easily caught the lightning in a glowing ball that he held in his fist. Once the Dark Jedi saw that their attack was futile, they charged him. But Revan chose that exact moment to unleash the traitors' own lightning attack right back at them. Several of the smarter Dark Jedi – Bandon included – caught the lightning on their lightsabers. The others were quickly stopped right in their tracks as they felt more pain than they'd ever imagined course through their bodies. Those who'd been able to counter the attack began striking at Revan in just a few seconds, but that was all the time that was needed for some of the weaker Dark Jedi that were being electrocuted to succumb to the pain and become one with the Force.

As the battle became a dance of blades, Bastila could only watch Revan in awe. Whenever a lightsaber came at him, he seemed to be there one second, and then somewhere else entirely the next. When he struck at the traitors, he became a force of nature. None of them could stand against him for more than a few seconds, and that was assuming they even saw him coming at them in the first place. Revan cut the Dark Jedi down one by one quickly and efficiently. It was as though he knew exactly what each one was going to do, and what the best way to counter them. After just eighty three seconds, the original twenty eight would-be usurpers were down to just Bandon and two others.

Bandon disengaged himself from the fight and ran for the doors, only to find that Revan was still keeping them sealed shut despite the chaos of the fight. Bandon turned around just in time to see Revan decapitate the last of his followers.

The leader of the now-deceased traitors thought bitterly _'If I can't take Revan's power, then I'll take his most valued trophy.'_ Then, just as Revan threw his lightsaber at Bandon, the Sith Lord launched a Force lightning attack at the one person in the room who was vulnerable: Bastila.

Bastila screamed as the attack tormented her, and then several stray bolts overloaded the terminal next to her. The computer exploded, and Bastila was launched nearly twenty feet due to being right next to the source of the explosion. Revan turned to face her the second he caught his lightsaber, and instantly forgot about the two smoking pieces of flesh that had been Bandon when he saw what the traitor's final intentions had been. He sprinted toward the woman, silently praying that she was still alive.

At first it seemed that his prayers would go unanswered, but then he felt it: a flicker of life within the stubborn woman. Revan instantly ordered Maddraath to call medics in order to get Bastila to the med bay ASAP. But then he noticed the small amount of life left in Bastila begin to fade away. Revan tried to heal her with the Force, but her wounds were far too great for a simple healing power.

Bastila needed something strong in order to sustain the little bit of life she had left, and she needed it _now_.

Desperate not to lose her, Revan reached out with his mind, and did the one thing he could: he tied Bastila's remaining life force to his own. If she wanted to die, she'd have to drag him along with her.

* * *

><p>Bastila slowly began to stir, then she eventually opened her eyes to see that she was lying on a bed next to several machines in a white room that all screamed 'hospital' to her.<p>

A Twi'lek doctor came into the room typing at a data pad, who then noticed Bastila. She smiled "Oh good, you're awake! Lord Revan will be pleased."

Noticing how stiff her back was, Bastila stretched it out and groaned "What happened? And how long have I been here?"

The doctor answered "I think it would be better if you asked Lord Revan how you ended up here. As for how long you've been in this room? A little over five and a half days."

Bastila froze when the Twi'lek finished speaking, who instantly tried to reassure her "Hey, it's all right, you're okay now. I'm just going to go let Lord Revan know you're awake, and then I'll have someone bring in some food and water."

As soon as she heard the word 'food' Bastila realized just how hungry she was. She simply nodded, then laid her head back down on the pillow.

* * *

><p>Bastila looked up from her meal – which was surprisingly good for hospital food – just in time to see the Dark Lord march through the doors. The second he looked at her, Bastila was surprised to find herself suddenly feel an enormous wave of relief, instantly followed by guilt. <em>'Why would I be feeling guilty?'<em> Bastila thought in confusion. She then remembered what the doctor had suggested she talk to Revan about. Bastila looked up at him and asked "Revan, what happened? I... don't remember how I ended up here."

Bastila suddenly felt herself being hit by that wave of guilt again as Revan sighed "A Sith Lord named Bandon and a handful of Dark Jedi decided to try to steal my title. I disposed of them quickly, but Bandon injured you gravely just before he died… He almost killed you." Revan turned away from Bastila and muttered "In order to preserve your life long enough until you could receive proper treatment, I had to tie my life to yours through the Force. It obviously worked, but it did something else as well…"

When he didn't say anything, Bastila sat up and softly told him "Thank you for saving me, Revan. But... what else did it do?"

Revan looked at her again, and confessed "Tying my life to yours has… resulted in a Force bond between us, Bastila. It is similar to the sort of bond that forms between a Master and a Padawan that are close to one another, but for some reason ours is considerably stronger in many areas. It may have been amplified from our time spent together before I left the Jedi. I don't know what sort of limits it has, but it could easily include things such as shared thoughts, emotions, dreams, and many other things."

Bastila's eyes widened slightly as she realized why she'd been feeling guilty: it was _Revan's_ guilt being transmitted through their bond. She then looked at Revan with her heart flooding with affection and happiness for what he'd done to save her, and the connection the two of them now shared. She got out her bed, and gave Revan the warmest hug she'd given anyone since the Jedi Civil War had begun.

"Bastila, why are you happy? You almost _died_ because of someone who wanted to take my power."

Bastila backed up lightly so she could look at Revan. She smiled "I'm happy because you saved my life in a way that shows just how much you care for me, Revan. I've never felt so close to anyone in my life."

And as her affection was transmitted from one partner to the other, for just a second, Bastila felt a spark of joy blossom within Revan's soul.

* * *

><p><strong>Rate and Review people! And this is not the end of this fanfic, there's still a lot more to come.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**I know, I know. And unfortunately, I don't even have an excuse for why I haven't updated any of my stories for over a month. But, here I am now.**

**Ezio Uchiha:**** The Transcendent Knight actually sounds like a good title for Revan in this story. If I ever come to a point where that sort of title is appropriate, I'll use it. By the way, that Assassins Creed quote "We work in the dark to serve the light." has actually come to mind multiple times while I've been writing this fic. Oh yeah, and have you found any other KOTOR fanfics that match up to this story yet? I'm just curious.**

**Kyjori:**** An excellent point. I myself look forward to when Bastila is forced to go up against people she called her friends.**

**Chapter 4: Reform**

The day after Bastila had woken from her five day coma, she received some news that surprised her quite a bit.

"Taris? Why are we at Taris? And doesn't it have a Republic base on it?"

Revan calmly explained "While you were recovering from your injuries, Bastila, a battle fleet under my command took control of the planet, disposing of the Republic forces stationed there in the process, although there are a number of Republic fugitives somewhere down there. Anyway, we have come to Taris because seeing that it is now under my control, the people living there are part of my responsibilities."

* * *

><p>Revan was <em>not<em> pleased with what he was hearing about Taris, and Bastila couldn't blame him. It was a world where the rich frequently abused their power, ignored their responsibilities, and looked down on the poor with contempt. Taris was also a world where a non-human had to have a permit just to walk around in the Upper and/or Middle City without being arrested. The Lower City was even worse; it was mainly controlled by swoop bike gangs, and there was currently a gang war which was resulting in people walking through the streets without being shot at a rare occurrence.

But what infuriated Revan most was the Under City. It had been created after a civil war that began when Taris had undergone a severe famine due to their primary food sources being contaminated by toxic pollution. The rich had hoarded as many resources as they could, and simply left the poor to starve. The poor rose up, and civil war engulfed the planet. Eventually the rebellion was defeated, but there were so many people being convicted that the prisons simply couldn't contain them all. So the Tarisian nobility had decided to banish the rebels to what was now known as the Under City. To this day, people convicted of certain crimes were banished there to try to survive in a sunless wasteland for the rest of their lives, and all of their descendants were doomed to that fate as well.

To make matters worse, the Under City was notorious for being infested with mutated beasts called rakghouls that could turn other people into rakghouls by infecting them with a bite. Fortunately the Republic scientists on Taris had managed to develop a cure for people who had been infected, yet had not already been turned into a rakghoul. Although it was currently restricted to Sith patrols being sent into the Under City.

Revan immediately gave orders for the rakghoul cure to be made available to the general public at cheap prices, and he completely dissolved the laws that restricted the freedoms of alien species. He also increased security in the Upper and Middle City in order to prevent violent crimes from being committed by people who were not very accepting of the new laws on equality (a man named Gorton Colu who had founded the Anti-Alien League was quickly arrested afterwards). But Revan's bodyguards were surprised when they discovered that Revan was going to the Lower City to assess to situation there himself.

"With all due respect, my lord, are you sure that this is a wise decision? Reports say that some of the gangs there will take a shot at anyone that isn't one of their own. If you must go, then at least take an adequate security force!" Maddraath insisted.

"Commander, you and your men have always been all the security I truly needed, and I've faced much worse by myself both in the Mandalorian War as well as in this one. But before we go, is there anything specific you can tell me about this gang war?"

Revan's chief bodyguard answered "Apparently there are only two major gangs in this street war: the Black Vulkars, and the Hidden Beks. The Beks used to be the ones that controlled the majority of the Lower City, and they even kept the other gangs in line for the most part. But when the Vulkars rose to power, they moved in on Bek territory and began shooting anyone that wasn't wearing their colours. The gang war has only gotten worse since then."

Bastila could feel Revan's calculating mind thinking furiously through their bond, and asked "Do you have a plan, Revan?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Maddraath, can you give me the location of the Hidden Bek base?"

* * *

><p>Revan and Bastila walked through the streets of the Lower City with their bodyguards in tow. They approached the Bek base, and the Hidden Bek lookout became frozen with fear as she saw the Dark Lord of the Sith approaching. She eventually regained control of her muscles and tried to run, but Revan kept her where she was with the Force. The lookout began to sweat in terror, and Revan casually walked up and said "I would like to speak to your leader, Gadon Thek. I have a proposition for him, and he would do well to consider it. Either let me in now, or I'll simply break the door down." Then he released the Bek from his Force grip.<p>

The woman stammered "Y-you can't bring this many people right into our own base!"

Revan shrugged. "Very well, only myself and my companion here will come in, and my guards will remain here. I would also appreciate it if you escorted us inside so we can prevent this from turning into a bloodbath. Now, if you value your life I highly recommend you let me in."

The Hidden Bek swallowed and gave a wordless nod, and led Revan and Bastila into the base.

* * *

><p>Once inside, the lookout glanced over at Revan. "Wait here, I'll go tell Gadon that you've come." Then she ran off. A minute later she came running back and stated "Gadon will see you now, but remember that the Hidden Beks are watching you closely, so don't even think about trying anything."<p>

Revan muttered "If that last part was supposed to be threatening, know that it failed miserably." He then walked forward and soon came face to face with Gadon Thek. The man was eyeing Revan with great suspicion, but nowhere near as suspicious as the Twi'lek woman next to him. Gadon cautiously murmured "Lord Revan... I have to admit I'm curious as to why the Dark Lord of the Sith wants to speak to the leader of a simple swoop gang."

Revan responded "Well Gadon, seeing that Taris is now under my control, part of my job is to govern the people of this planet, and this gang war of yours isn't making that easy."

The Twi'lek snarled "How _dare_ you accuse us like this! Gadon's a hero to the people of the Lower City - Brejik's the one who started this mess!"

"Calm down, Zaerdra!" Gadon snapped. "Do you want to piss off the man who rules our planet _and_ has a galactic army at his command?" He then turned back towards Revan. "I apologize on Zaerdra's behalf. Ever since this gang war started she's become a little over-zealous in her bodyguard duties."

"I understand, Gadon, she actually reminds me of my own bodyguards. They weren't very happy when I told them I was coming into your base with only one other person. But back to the reason I'm here. This gang war is making it unsafe for a person to even step outside of their house. I know that the Black Vulkars are the ones who have been attacking people on sight, and I know that back when the Beks were in charge, the Lower City was... relatively peaceful, by your standards at least. I also know that the Vulkars are getting new recruits every day, and you can't beat them on your own if things continue this way."

"Where are you going with all this, Revan?" Gadon demanded.

"Unlike you, I have soldiers whose numbers are more than enough to crush the Vulkars in a straight-up fight, but we both know that those thugs aren't going to fight fair. My men would be destroyed by guerrilla ambushes if we simply moved in en masse. In order to deal with the Vulkars, we need intel showing where their strongholds are, and how to get inside them quietly so we can take the Black Vulkars down for good... The sort of intel someone like you might have."

Gadon couldn't look more surprised. "You want to join forces?"

Revan answered "This is what I'm offering: help me make the streets of Taris safe again by helping us destroy the Black Vulkars. Once that's done, you and your men can have their old bases, and my men will be willing to overlook minor crimes your people commit in the future so long as you keep the other swoop gangs in check like you once did. These are my terms, Gadon Thek, accept them or do not."

Gadon thought for a moment and eventually said "As long as your offer is genuine, that sounds like a good arrangement if I've ever heard one."

"Then we are agreed. Excellent."

"I can point you to the Black Vulkars' primary base right now, but you'll never get in through the front entrance if you want to get all their lieutenants."

Bastila spoke up. "I take it there's a back entrance?"

The leader of the Beks smiled "That's correct, and I know someone who can get you in through that way: Mission Vao."

Zaerdra re-entered the conversation. "_Mission_? Gadon, you can't be serious. She's just a kid!"

Gadon argued "Mission's explored every step of every back alley in the Lower City, and she knows the Under City sewers better than anyone. If there's a person who can get them into the Vulkar base, it's her."

Revan asked "Where can I find Mission?"

"She and her Wookiee friend Zaalbar are usually looking to stir up trouble while exploring the Under City."

The Dark Lord nodded "I'll go look for her. I'll also send one of my officers here to speak with you later, Gadon. You can give him any other information you have about the Vulkars or their allies, and he'll deal with them accordingly."

The swoop gang leader gave a small bow of his head in respect. "Understood, Lord Revan, and thank you for giving us this opportunity. I promise you won't regret it."

"I'd better not."

* * *

><p>Revan and Bastila departed the elevator with their bodyguards, and came face to face with two Under City villagers who had the look of being beggars.<p>

"You there, upworlder! Anyone using this elevator has to pay the toll!"

"Yeah, this is our elevator. If you use it, you gotta give us something!"

Maddraath stepped forward. "You dare demand credits from Lord Revan? I should kill you both where you stand!"

The beggars looked terrified at this threat, and then scrambled out of there when a woman came running at them shouting "Go on you two, get out of here!" The newcomer stopped in front of the armed escort and sighed "I'm sorry about that. Those two beggars give everyone in the village a bad name. We aren't all like that though; most of us are good people."

Maddraath spoke again. "Mind your place, citizen. You stand before the ruler of this world, and Lord of the Sith: Darth Revan."

The woman's eyes instantly lit up in fear. "Oh! I-I'm sorry to bother you my-my lord. I'll just get out of your way now." Then she turned to go.

"Stop."

The woman froze, and slowly turned around. "Y-yes... my lord?"

Revan looked the woman in the eye. "Who are you?"

After a brief hesitation, she answered "My name is Shaleena. My lord."

Revan nodded his head respectfully. "A pleasure to meet you, Shaleena. I apologize if the Commander or myself frightened you. Maddraath takes his duty very seriously. A little too seriously sometimes."

Shaleena smiled after seeing that Revan wasn't going to hurt her, and that he was actually quite nice. "It's okay; I've dealt with worse people in my life. Uh, is there anything I can help you with, my lord?"

"What can you tell me about this village?"

Shaleena shrugged "Well I was born here, for starters. My parents were outcasts, banished to the Under City for some crime or other. They never liked to talk about it. Everyone here is an outcast... or the descendant of one. It's tough down here but, we survive. I guess it's easier for me, since, I've never known anything different." She sighed "Some of the people have given up all hope – they become bitter and depressed. But most of us are good people, despite what our ancestors may have done."

Bastila frowned "You've lived your entire life here just because your _parents_ did something the Tarisian nobles didn't like?"

Shaleena shrugged again. "Yeah, unfortunately that's simply the way the nobles run Taris." She smiled again. "But even so, we make the best of what we've got."

Bastila looked over at her bondmate, and a silent conversation passed between the two. After a minute, Revan looked at Shaleena again and announced "But the nobles aren't the ones running Taris anymore... I am. Shaleena, what do you do in this village, what sort of skills do you have?"

Shaleena looked confused, but she still answered the question. "I spend a lot of time helping Gendar, the leader of our village, when he needs it. I mainly help him clean the place up, and sometimes I do a little cooking."

Revan thought for a few seconds, then Kravveth wondered "My lord, is there something you have in mind?"

"As a matter of fact there is, Lieutenant Commander. I want a background check done on everyone in this village. If they're clean, have them integrated into the Lower or Middle City, and give them enough credits to start a life there. If not, then send them to the appropriate prison unless they've already served their sentence by having to live in this wretched place for too long."

Shaleena was stunned at this. She'd always dreamed about living on the surface, but that hadn't been able to stop her from knowing that she was always going to have to live in this sewer... until now. "Oh thank you, my lord, _thank you_! I-I should probably go let Gendar know so he can tell the whole village!"

"Do not worry yourself about that, Shaleena; one of my men will let the rest of the village know momentarily." Revan assured her. Then he asked "Shaleena, do you have any family, or any idea what you will do with yourself when you are integrated into the rest of Tarisian society?"

Shaleena admitted "No, my parents were the only family I've ever had, and they passed away a few years back. And I _never_ expected anything like this, so I don't really have much of a plan at this point. But I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out."

Revan was feeling somewhat concerned for Shaleena; she was a nice, optimistic, pretty, and some would say naive young woman. And unfortunately there were a lot of people on Taris who would take advantage of someone like her. "Shaleena, if all turns out well, would you consider working for me? Were you to accept, you would most likely work as a servant – such as a cook or a maid – until we found a more permanent job for you. And you needn't worry about accommodations; we'll supply those for you free of charge. However, if you do accept, it is unlikely that you will see Taris again for many years, if at all."

The Outcast seemed surprised at the Dark Lord's offer, and considered his words carefully. She eventually answered "As I said, there's not anyone here that I'm really close to anymore, and... I've always wanted to see the stars." She smiled as though a little embarrassed.

Revan put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The Dark Lord then told Shaleena "We just have to do the standard issue background check on you, then once it comes through you'll be properly introduced to your new work environment, as well as your new home. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must attend to other business."

Just as Revan stepped away, Shaleena threw her arms around him and gave Revan a hug that rivalled the ones Bastila had given him during his time on Dantooine. Bastila felt a small prick of jealousy at the sight, but it was washed away the instant Revan sent her a wave of reassurance through their bond.

Ending the hug with severely reddened cheeks, Shaleena's smile eventually broke out once more and she said "I hope I'll see you again soon, my lord. And thank you again!"

* * *

><p>The entire village had become ecstatic when they realized that they were being freed from the Under City (except for a selfish 'merchant' named Igear, since he wasn't going to be one of the most important men in the village anymore), they all praised Revan's name and swore to repay him for his kindness. Revan had simply nodded and left his men to deal with the villagers while he and Bastila continued on alone to look for Mission. As they were leaving the village, Bastila looked at her bondmate again.<p>

"Revan... that was a great thing you did back there."

"No one deserves to live like that, Bas." Revan muttered. Then both partners stopped in their tracks as they realized what Revan had just said.

Bastila hadn't been called 'Bas' in seven years.

But then their thoughts were interrupted as young, feminine voice shouted "Please you have to help me! Nobody else will help me; even the Beks won't help me! But I can't just leave him there h-he's my friend!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Yeah, uh, sorry for taking so long on this chapter, but unfortunately some things simply take priority over others.**

**Anyway, this story has not been abandoned, but enough of my lame excuses. Here's the next chapter.**

**Oh, and have any of you noticed the pattern I've got going with the chapters' titles?**

**Chapter 6: Repay**

"You'll help me, won't you?" The young blue-skinned Twi'lek stammered as she ran up to the two strangers.

Revan turned his masked face towards her. "You're Mission Vao, aren't you? Gadon Thek said that you could help me."

The Twi'lek frowned "Gadon? Help you? What? I-I don't know what you're talking about. Please, Zaalbar's in trouble. He needs our help or they're gonna sell him into slavery!"

Bastila spoke. "Zaalbar? That's the name of your Wookiee friend, isn't it? What happened?"

Mission frantically explained "M-me and Zaalbar were just wandering around here in the Under City. You know, looking for stuff we could find, just kind of exploring. We do it all the time. Only this time, they were waiting for us: Gamorrean slave hunters. We didn't even have a chance to run! Big Z threw himself at them and he roared for me to run! I-I took off. I figured Zaalbar would be right behind me. But there were too many of them – he couldn't get away. They're going to sell him to a slaver, I just know it!"

Revan raised his hand. "Calm down for just a moment and _think_, Mission. Where would the Gamorreans have taken Zaalbar? Where could you find him?"

After taking a deep breath, Mission sighed "I don't know for sure, but those Gamorreans like to hang out in the sewers. The stink reminds them of home, I guess. That's probably where they took Big Z."

Bastila offered "If we help you rescue Zaalbar from the slavers, Mission, can you help us get inside the Vulkar base?"

"It's a deal," Mission answered without hesitation. "As soon as we get Big Z back I'll show you a way into that Vulkar base. Now come on, we have to find Zaalbar before they sell him to slavers, or worse!"

Revan stopped her again. "Hold on a minute, Mission. Before we get going, do you even know who either of us is?"

"No. Why, should I?"

"Allow me to introduce us both before we go. My companion here is Bastila Shan, and I am Darth Revan."

Mission absentmindedly nodded, mainly focusing on getting her friend back until her brain finally processed what she'd just heard.

"…oh _kriff_,"

The Twi'lek instantly fell to her knees and bowed her head with her nose almost touching the ground. "Please don't kill me Dark Lord sir! I-I'm sorry for disrespecting you I'm so sorry!"

The Dark Lord told her "Peace, Mission, you need not bow. I have no intention of killing you – I actually need your help. And I will help you find your lost friend; no one should have to suffer the life of a slave."

Mission hesitantly got to her feet, and asked "R-really? You'll actually help me? But, everything I've heard about you, it all-"

Bastila interrupted "Of course the Republic Senate has painted Revan as a villain; they're at _war_ with him for Force's sake. And you obviously haven't been to the rest of Taris lately, have you? If you had, you would have noticed how the cure for the rakghoul disease has become available to the public, and all sentient species are now equal by law in all parts of Taris. And the main reason Revan was looking for you is so we can wipe out the Vulkars to help make the Lower City a bit safer. And if you were to go into the Under City village just now, you would find those poor Outcasts finally being freed from this cesspit. So tell me, Mission Vao – would a tyrant have done _any_ of the things I just mentioned?"

To say that Mission looked surprised at finding out about everything Revan had done for Taris in less than a day was a severe understatement. "I... guess not."

Revan grunted "Come on you two, let's go get Zaalbar and then get inside the Vulkar base." The group of three then went trekking through the Under City, until after just a couple minutes they came upon a poorly trained, nervous, inexperienced mercenary.

"D-don't move! I'm not afraid to use this blaster if I have to!"

A gruff voice came from the shadows. "Settle down, kid, we've already lost enough men to those damned rakghouls, we don't need to go around picking fights with…Revan?" A heavily muscled man carrying a huge Mandalorian heavy repeater walked into Revan's sight, with three more mercenaries that looked just as scared as the first one they'd met right behind him. "What are _you_ doing down here in this pile of filth?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Revan told the stranger. Bastila briefly wondered why Revan would be familiar with a common thug until Revan sensed her confusion and mentally sent her the necessary information through their bond. This man was a Mandalorian named Canderous of the clan Ordo, and during the Mandalorian War he had been one of Mandalore the Ultimate's top lieutenants until Revan crushed the Mandalorians with his decisive victory at Malachor V.

Canderous shrugged "Since you scattered the clans, a lot of us Mandalorians have to find other ways to make a living. I'm currently working for Davik Kang, the local crime boss; he wants me and these jumpy idiots to salvage anything we can from those Republic escape pods. But the local gangs have already taken everything of worth, and we've lost several men to the Under City's mutant freaks, so we're heading back with what little we've got."

Revan was about to respond, but then he felt a warning from the Force. A second later one of the mercs announced "Hey Canderous, I heard something, over there in the shadows. It sounded like a rakghoul." Sure enough, a few seconds later several rakghouls came running at them with their mouths frothing.

"Looks like we've got company. Get those blasters ready, boys!"

The mercs opened fire on the creatures, but they were afraid, and so nearly all of their shots went wide. As the rakghouls got closer, Canderous' men panicked and ran for their lives, but then more rakghouls came out of nowhere and tore the mercenaries to pieces. While the mutants began to feast on their fresh kills, more and more rakghouls emerged from the shadows to surround Revan and the others who hadn't run. Canderous looked determined to take as many of the freaks down with him as humanly possible, and Mission had fear in her eyes, but to her credit the fourteen year old stood her ground and drew her vibroblade.

"_Enough._"

Darth Revan raised his hand above his head, and a storm of Force lighting erupted from it and roasted the entire horde of rakghouls were they stood. In two seconds flat, they were nothing more than a large pile of smoking corpses.

Mission briefly surveyed the dead beasts, then looked at the Dark Lord with her eyebrows raised. "Okay, now _that_ was pretty cool."

Meanwhile, Canderous looked at what was left of his men and cursed "Damn it! I told Davik that this mission was a bad idea. His men aren't trained to handle something like this, and I'm a warrior, not a babysitter. Now how am I supposed to get all this salvage back to him?"

Revan turned towards the Mandalorian. "You know, Canderous, technically I could have you arrested or even killed; those Republic escape pods have officially been declared property of the Sith the moment we took over Taris. But, you were a worthy adversary during the Mandalorian Wars, and out of respect I won't do that. Now, how did you end up as hired muscle for the local crime boss?"

The Mandalorian sighed "Like I said, Revan, I have to find some way to earn credits so I can feed myself. But even so, I have to admit that this isn't a warrior's role at all."

"On that we agree. This is beneath you, Canderous, and unlike Davik I have actual use for warriors of you capability."

The Mandalorian looked up in surprise. "You want me to work for you?"

"I don't waste opportunities when I see them, and having someone like you under my command is a rare one indeed." Revan answered.

Canderous muttered "You're the reason I'm in this situation in the first place, Revan. You're the reason the Mandalorian clans are broken and their people - _your_ people - are scattered."

"It was a war, Canderous," Revan retorted. "The clans were butchering entire worlds that were populated by innocent people who could barely fight, if at all. Mandalore broke our code of honour when he slaughtered noncombatants, and so I refused to answer his call to war. When your assault continued I had no choice but to enter the fight in place of the Jedi that had forsaken their duty. Besides, the Mandalorian people fought that war for the sheer glory of it, win or lose, and you lost. The Republic beat you in the end, but before that your very names made their people tremble in fear."

Canderous pondered, and then eventually murmured "You're wrong, Revan." The Mandalorian stood face to face with the Dark Lord. "_You_ were the one who beat us. You alone turned the tide of the war against the clans. Mandalore himself was stunned at the brilliance of your tactics and the stories of your skill brought back by survivors that had seen you fight. When you cornered us at Malachor V, he challenged you to single combat, and even then you proved yourself the greater warrior and struck our champion down." With that, Canderous of the clan Ordo bowed before Revan of the clan Bloodraven. "You, Revan, are the single greatest warrior this galaxy has ever seen, and whatever you are fighting will be worthy of my skill. If you will have me, Lord Revan, then I hereby pledge my life, my loyalty, and my honour to you and your cause."

Revan announced "Canderous Ordo, it would be my honour to fight alongside such a worthy warrior. As the last descendant of Clan Bloodraven, I accept your vow. _Haat, Ijaa, Haa'it_."

"_Haat, Ijaa, Haa'it_." Canderous echoed as he stood.

Mission looked back between the two with a bewildered look on her face. "Okay, I've lived in Taris' Lower City for most of my life, and I like to think that as a result I can understand just about any language one will hear if they stay in Republic space, but even I've never heard that one before."

"Those last few words were in _Mando'a_, the Mandalorian language." explained Revan. "They translate to 'Truth, Honour, Vision.' and by tradition have always been said when Mandalorians seal a pact."

"Think you could teach me how to speak it? It sounds pretty cool as far as languages go."

The Dark Lord allowed himself a small chuckle at Mission's eagerness and curiosity. "Maybe some other time, but for now I believe we still have to rescue your friend."

"Oh right! I can't believe I almost forgot!" Mission exclaimed. "Those Gamorrean slavers still have Big Z!"

"Ah, Gamorreans, I always love making those pigs squeal before they die." Canderous grinned sadistically.

"Actually Canderous," Interjected Revan "you won't be coming with us on this one. Instead I want you to go back to Davik's estate with as much of this salvage as you can carry, and act like you would as though you were still working for him. Then when you get the chance, I want you to take anything and everything that could be used as evidence to put him in prison where he belongs, as well as anything else he's got that you think could be useful. Once that's done, give me a call." Revan ordered while tossing Canderous a military standard holocomm

As he caught the device, Canderous looked slightly disappointed at being denied a fight, but he had sworn an oath of loyalty to Revan, and would die before he went back on it. Besides, Davik hadn't been paying Canderous the kind of credits he'd originally promised, and Canderous didn't like getting cheated. It was time for payback.

"Understood."

* * *

><p>It was all Mission and Bastila could do to not openly gape at the trail of death left behind by Darth Revan. He'd casually walked into a room filled with at least a dozen Gamorreans, and before any of them had a chance to react, the pigs suddenly started clutching at their throats as they felt their windpipes being crushed. Revan seemed to ignore them completely, simply walking through the room as if they weren't even there. And whenever a dead or dying Gamorrean was in his path, the corpse was instantly swept aside by an invisible force so strong that the impact left a dent in the wall. This process repeated itself multiple times with Gamorreans and rakghouls alike, and not one of them was spared. Revan never broke stride; tirelessly plundering the slavers' base in his quest to liberate their prisoner.<p>

They were specks of dust before a hurricane, and Revan was the eye of the storm.

Eventually they came across a door with a different design from the rest, and Revan stopped as he felt a presence behind it that was different from the other ones he'd felt since setting foot in this sewer.

Mission went up to the door to get a closer look. "Hmm… This is one of those old-style manual locks; no computer codes or nothing. The sewers are the only place on Taris you'll see one of these things. You can't use conventional security spikes on these old locks, but don't worry, I've come across them before. I've rigged up a little device that should do the trick, just give me a minute."

The Twi'lek started digging into one of her pockets to fish out her gadget, but stopped when Revan simply gestured with his hand and the door slid open.

"…Or you could just do that."

Within the room, a Wookiee cautiously got up and walked to the edge of the now-open door, then stopped when he saw Mission.

"[You're a sight for sore eyes, Mission.]" Zaalbar sighed in relief.

Mission ran up to her friend, and as she jumped up to give him a hug she smiled "I'm glad to see you too, Big Z! You didn't think I'd forget about you, did you? Mission and Zaalbar, together forever!"

Zaalbar then noticed Revan and Bastila, and softly put Mission down. "[Who are these people with you?]"

"The woman is Bastila, and the masked dude is Darth Revan. Can you believe it, Big Z? The Dark Lord of the Sith helped me rescue you! I never could have gotten you out without them."

Revan politely inclined his head. "I'm just glad that you won't be a slave, Zaalbar."

Zaalbar looked at Revan with what seemed like a surprised expression on his face (Wookiee facial expressions were hard to read, except when they were angry – it was impossible to misinterpret _that_). "[You know the language of my people? That is rare among your species. I am impressed.[" Zaalbar then seemed to recognize that Revan's rare talents regarding languages were unimportant at the moment and recomposed himself. "(You may be the Dark Lord of the Sith, but you have saved me from a life of servitude and slavery out of the kindness of your heart. There is only one way I can ever repay such an act: I will swear a life debt to you.)"

Mission looked at her friend in surprise. "A life debt? Are you sure about that, Big Z? Think about this carefully, you'd better be sure about this."

"[I am sure, Mission. This is an issue of great importance to me. Because of our great physical strength, Wookiees are being used as slave labour on our own homeworld. Many offworlders see us as brutes and animals to be exploited. Over the years, slavers have taken many of my people, we must always be on guard against raiders attempting to destroy our villages.]" Zaalbar sighed as he remembered the plight his people constantly faced. "[When the Gamorreans captured me, I thought I was doomed to a life of servitude. I have been saved from such a fate, and the only way I can repay that kindness is through a lifedebt.]"

Mission turned to face Revan. "Big Z's swearing a Wookiee life debt to you. Wow… this is pretty big. Do you realize what this means?"

Revan nodded. But then Bastila spoke up. "Well I don't! I get the impression that it's some sort of vow of loyalty, but something tells me that there's more to it than that."

Revan calmly explained "A life debt is the most solemn vow a Wookiee can possibly make, Bastila. When one is sworn, they stay with you for the rest of your life no matter what. The fact that Zaalbar is swearing one to me now means that if I were to travel into the abyss itself, Zaalbar would follow me without hesitation."

Bastila looked at Zaalbar in surprise as she realized just how important this really was. The Wookiee walked up to Revan and solemnly bowed his head. "[In the presence of you all, I swear my lifedebt. Forever after I will be by your side, Revan. May my vow be as strong as the roots of the great Wroshyr trees of Kashyyyk.]"

"You honour me, Zaalbar, I am proud to accept your vow and have you at my side." Revan told the Wookiee.

Meanwhile, Mission crossed her arms. "I guess this means you're stuck with me as well. Because wherever Big Z goes, I'm going. I almost lost him once, and it's not going to happen again."

Revan looked at the young Twi'lek. "I get the feeling that there's no way to talk you out of this, is there?"

"Nope. Besides, if I don't go with you then I'm probably never going to learn how to speak Mandalorian." Mission grinned.

"_Mando'a_." Revan corrected.

"Right, _Mando'a_, I'll remember that."

"In any case, I'm glad to have you with me, Mission." The Dark Lord smiled under his mask. "Oh, and if you're going to be learning _Mando'a_, then you'd better learn this: _Mando'ad draar digur._ A Mandalorian never forgets. Which means that I'm only going to teach you how to say something once, got it?"

"_Mando'ad draar digur._" Mission pronounced it perfectly.

"Excellent."

Mission then remembered something else rather important. "So… I guess I still owe you one secret path into the Vulkar base. That was the deal, right? Don't worry." She assured them. "I know a back door into that scum den!"

Bastila sighed "While not the ideal place to be, I suppose it's better than the Tarisian sewers at least."

Mission explained "The Vulkars put up a force shield to keep the sewer dwellers out. I'm one of the only non-Vulkars on Taris who can get you past it." She then remembered another important detail. "I just hope that rancor monster isn't still there."

Bastila's head snapped over to Mission. "Wait, did you say a _rancor_?"

Revan casually stated "Ah, so _that's_ the large presence I felt when we entered these sewers."

Mission sheepishly explained "There used to be a rancor monster that made its nest in that part of the sewers. It pretty much eats anything it can get its claws on. That thing is _huge_! Luckily for us though, rancors aren't too bright. I was able to sneak past it before, so I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out. That is, unless you want to change your mind."

The Dark Lord muttered "We don't have any other choice if we want to sneak into the Vulkars' base."

"Okay then, off we go." Mission said as the group went in search of the shield generator.

"Hey Revan, can you teach me how to swear in _Mando'a_?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the ridiculously long delay, people, but as you can see, this story has not been abandoned. I've finally got a significant amount of time off, so I can get back to my stories now!**

**Spectre4hire: Got it in one. Because of that, I'm going to put a small reference to you in this chapter. See if you can spot it (It's pretty obvious).**

**Chapter 7: Rebuke**

Carth looked around the cantina, barely able to contain his rage as he saw multiple groups of people, mostly aliens, raising their drinks as they praised the name Darth Revan.

Carth growled "Are all these people really this ignorant? Haven't they heard about all the horrors conducted, all the innocent people butchered by the Sith in this damned war?"

Beside him, the Jedi Knight Valeesha Pridence, murmured "As terrible as those are, none of them have had a direct effect on these people, Carth. They only care about what happens to them personally."

Trask Ulgo pointed out "You have to admit, Sith Lord or not, Revan has made life on Taris a lot better for the vast majority of its people."

Carth instantly rounded on the inexperienced soldier. "Are you seriously defending that murdering scum? Just whose side are you on in this war, Ensign?"

Before Carth could do anything that could draw attention, Valeesha swiftly defused the situation. "Carth, you have to remember that Trask is merely stating what his eyes and ears tell him. He is new to the war, and so he did not see the Dark Lord's underlying motives when Revan 'liberated' these people."

Trask frowned. "What do you mean? What underlying motive?"

The Jedi lowered her head. "Revan is a master of manipulation. By gaining the love of the common people, many of them will enlist into Darth Revan's army, and turn against the Republic."

"And that's just the ones on Taris," Carth added. "His propaganda officers must be having a field day with all this."

Trask still didn't seem entirely convinced. "But if he wanted soldiers that badly, couldn't he just conscript them? There are billions of people on this planet."

"He could," Valeesha acknowledged. "But conscripts would likely just desert or defect to the Republic the first chance they got, and even if they didn't they wouldn't commit themselves to the fight. Plus, Revan would have to waste soldiers keeping this planet secure so the people wouldn't revolt. This way, the recruit he gets are willing ones, and he's able to send them all straight to the front lines."

Convinced, Trask whistled. "Wow, no wonder Revan beat the Mandalorians so badly – he's got to be one of the best tacticians the galaxy's seen in generations."

The Jedi Knight muttered "Revan is brilliant, charismatic, and he knows how to inspire others – all the qualities of a fine leader. And I can't deny that he was truly a great one when he led the Republic against Mandalore's armies. But now he is a servant of the dark side, and no one in this galaxy is safe until he is defeated."

Carth shook his head – he was sick of talking about the traitor Revan. "Enough sitting around. We need to figure out a way to get off this planet."

"Well we can't simply take the next shuttle off-world – they're all heading to other planets occupied by the Sith. And right now we need to get to Dantooine so that we can report to the Jedi Council." The Knight reminded them.

Trask shrugged "I'm sure if we look in the right places, we'll be able to find someone who can smuggle us out of here. But even if we find them, it's gonna cost us credits."

Carth got everyone to take out all their credits, and he counted them. They currently had 273 credits. Not nearly enough to buy them a ticket off this world.

Trask spotted several gamblers close by, and whispered "Do either of you play pazaak?" When both shook their heads, he asked Valeesha "Do you think maybe you could use your Jedi mind trick thing to... tip the odds in your favour?"

She blinked "You mean use the Force to cheat these men out of their hard-earned credits? That would be a violation of the Jedi Code!"

"Fine! Fine! Forget I said anything."

Carth then spotted something of interest. "What about that?" On several of the vid-screens implanted in the cantina's walls, were the words _The Taris Duelling Ring Commission proudly presents our latest match: Deadeye Duncan vs. Gerlon Two-Fingers!_

"You want to earn credits by betting on the duelling matches?" Trask guessed.

"No, I'm suggesting that one of us enters the ring, where the real money has got to be. As long as we don't do anything to attract the Sith's attention, we'll have enough credits to get out of here in no time. Maybe even buy our own ship."

"Alright" Trask nodded, "I guess the only question is which one of us will be the one to step into the ring. And I can tell you right now that it's not me. I could probably make it past the first two or three guys, but some of them look like they've been duelling for years."

When the attention turned to Carth, he sighed "I could take them, but the risk of exposure is too big. Those matches are probably broadcasted all over Taris, and if Revan or any of the other traitors I fought beside against the Mandalorians see me, there's a good chance they'll recognize me."

That left Valeesha.

"I won't kill men just for a handful of credits." She declared.

"Hey, the duels are all non-lethal. They only let the duellists use dulled vibroblades, and stun blasters. Sure, a guy might end up with nasty bruises or even a couple broken bones, but no one ever gets killed, not since they made death matches illegal on this planet." Trask assured her.

The Jedi seemed to have an internal debate, then eventually sighed "Fine. I'll do it. But if I'm going to go into that ring, I'll need a new weapon. If I go in there armed with a lightsaber, the Sith will be all over us faster than you can blink."

* * *

><p>Valeesha's energy shield barely held up against Twitch's rain of blaster fire as she ran up to him. It was infuriating for her – knowing she could have simply deflected it all, but unable to in order to maintain her cover. When she got within striking distance, Twitch threw his blasters aside and whipped out his vibroblade. It quickly became clear to the Jedi that while Twitch was a very skilled duellist, he was much better at shooting than he was at swordplay.<p>

Twenty seconds later, Twitch's blade was skittering across the ground as Valeesha disarmed the Rodian, then she hit him over the head with the hilt of her vibrosword, knocking him out cold.

"_It's over! The fight is over! The Mysterious Stranger has won!_" The duelling ring's announcer excitedly declared. "_Twitch's reign of terror is over! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new champion: The Mysterious Stranger!_"

The Jedi allowed herself a brief moment of pride as the thousands of people in the audience cheered for her. She'd torn through Deadeye Duncan and Gerlon Two-Fingers – who could barely even fight, what with Duncan's terrible eyesight and Gerlon's injury. Ice had put up a good fight, but mastery of the blade was a Jedi's field of expertise, and she'd gone down in the end. Marl had given her a run for her money, and she was not ashamed to say that had he still been in his prime, there was a very good chance he could have defeated her even if she had been using the Jedi's preferred weapon. And as for Twitch, she'd just demonstrated that you simply needed a good energy shield to counter his blasters, as well as a strong sword arm and quick reflexes.

A couple of medic droids carried Twitch's body out of the ring, and another one checked Valeesha over for any injuries, which was unnecessary seeing that she hadn't suffered so much as a scratch. The instant she was given the green light, she began walking off the stage, but stopped when she nearly bumped into a heavily armoured man.

"Where do you think you're going, Stranger? Did you really think you could become the so-called Taris Duelling Ring Champion without even having a friendly chat with the legendary Bendak Starkiller?"

Valeesha recognized the name immediately. It was impossible to get involved in the duelling ring on Taris and not hear about Bendak Starkiller. He'd fought in the ring over hundred times, and each one had been a death match. But when death matches became illegal, he retired because he found non-lethal fights too boring.

"What do you want, Bendak?"

"I've been watching you in the duelling ring," He casually stated. "Not bad for an amateur. But I'm about to show you what it's like to do battle against a real champion."

The Jedi became suspicious. "I thought you only fought in death matches, Bendak."

"I do."

"But they're illegal!"

Bendak chuckled, and a second later the announcer's voice came over the speakers again. "_Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special surprise for you! Come with me on a journey to the savage days of years gone by, when two combatants entered the arena, and only one came out alive! They're illegal. They're banned. They've been outlawed for nearly ten years. But we're going to show one to you tonight: A good old-fashioned death match!_"

Valeesha stared in shock at Bendak, who smirked. "When I saw how quickly you burned through the first three pretenders, I had a feeling you had what it took to beat the rest. I talked to Ajuur, and he agreed. The Hutt spent this whole time 'chatting' with the right people, so we don't have worry about anyone interfering. The match starts in an hour, Stranger, so that the fans have time to go place their bets. I suggest you take this time to reflect on your life, because the next time you step into this ring, you won't walk out."

Bendak walked away to prepare, then seemed to remember something as he turned around. "Oh, and don't even think of running. It crossed my mind that you might get cold feet, which is why I had Ajuur place guards all around the arena. Go rest up, Stranger. I'll see you again when it's time for you to die. And be sure to get a proper weapon – don't want you to die _too_ quickly."

* * *

><p>"Well this is just kriffing great," Trask spat as he watched what transpired on the screen. "What do we do now?"<p>

Carth sighed "The only thing we can do: Hope that Valeesha has what it takes to beat that scumbag." Before Trask could object, Carth muttered "I don't like it either, Ensign. But it's either that, or we break in, bust her out, and draw a lot of unwanted attention from the Sith."

The young soldier shook his head in disgust. "I hate this. I mean, it's bad enough being on a Sith-occupied planet, but it also has to be the one that the Dark Lord himself is on. Now we have to deal with this too!"

"Valeesha's a Jedi Knight, she can handle herself." Carth told his fellow soldier. _'I hope.'_ "We've kept a relatively low profile, and despite Valeesha's celebrity status in the ring, no one on Taris knows anything about her aside from her stage name. As for Darth Revan being here, he's probably got more important things to do than hunt Republic fugitives – like, conquer worlds, enslave cities, torture prisoners, kill innocents, or whatever it is that Sith Lords do..."

* * *

><p>Revan swept his crimson saber in a long arc, severing the heads of two Vulkars, and then unleashed a storm of lightning from his hand on a security droid.<p>

With all the obvious threats dealt with for the moment, the Dark Lord turned his attention on a woman cowering in the corner.

"Please don't hurt me!" She begged. "I just serve the food here, that's all! I'm not like the others – I'm not even a Black Vulkar! Please don't kill me!"

Revan deactivated his blade, but kept it in his hand. "Who are you, and what are you doing in the Vulkar base?"

Still trembling, the girl answered "My name is Ada. My father owed Davik some money, but he couldn't pay. Davik killed my father and sold me into slavery here at the Vulkar compound to pay off the debt."

Sensing that the woman was telling the truth, Revan put away his lightsaber, and opened the door to the hallway where Zaalbar, Mission, and Bastila were waiting.

"You were in there for nineteen whole seconds, Revan," The Twi'lek smirked. "Don't tell me you're getting old."

Bastila was quick to defend her bondmate. "It actually only took him _two_ seconds to kill the Vulkars. I'll have you know, Mission, that the other seventeen were spent talking to a woman that these scum have enslaved." One that note, she walked up to Ada and tried to calm the poor girl down. "Everything's going to be all right. It's safe now; we're not going to hurt you."

Despite Bastila's reassurances, Ada still seemed slightly cautious. "Who are you people?"

Mission said "My name's Mission, and this Wookiee is my best friend Zaalbar. That's Bastila, and this is... Revan."

Ada's eyes snapped over to where Revan imposingly stood with his arms crossed as he silently observed them all. "Wait, Revan as in Darth Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith?"

Mission sheepishly said "If you want to put it that way... yeah. But don't let what the Republic says about him fool you. Revan's actually a good guy. He's already made life on Taris about ten times better for anyone who isn't a member of the nobility or a Black Vulkar."

'Really?" Ada said, surprised. "Well, then do you think that maybe you could... let me go?"

"Consider yourself set free." Revan told the girl.

Ada blinked, secretly wondering if this was all a dream. After all, who ever heard of Sith Lords setting slaves free out of the kindness of their hearts? "I... I'm free to go? You're not gonna kill me? I-I don't know how I can ever repay you. Thank you! Thank you!"

Ada excitedly ran for the doors, but Revan stopped her with the Force. "Hold on, Ada. This base is still swarming with Vulkars, and if any of them see you, they'll kill you. For now, I suggest you stay here with these three. I'll take care of the Vulkars." Revan then disappeared from sight as he cloaked himself with the Force.

Ada blinked, then pinched herself to be absolutely certain that this wasn't a dream. When things stayed the same, she turned towards the group of three.

"How did he do that?"

"With the Force as your ally, anything is possible." Bastila stated.

* * *

><p>Revan used the Force to silently choke the lazy Vulkar that was supposed to be monitoring the base's security, and then sealed the doors behind him as he allowed himself to become visible once more. The Dark Lord sat down at the computers, and began to expertly sabotage the security measures the Vulkars had put up – alarms, turrets, droids, force fields. Once that was done, he activated his holocomm and contacted the soldiers he had on standby, waiting to infiltrate the base.<p>

"Come in, Captain Tundrath, this is Darth Revan. Come in."

A small hologram of the officer he was hailing appeared. "My lord, Captain Tundrath responding. What are your orders?"

"Is Spectre Squadron ready, Captain?" Revan demanded. Spectre Squadron consisted of the best stealth and infiltration specialists under Revan's command, and had done everything from assassinating Republic generals, to liberating entire POW camps. And it was all done without the enemy realizing they'd even been there until there was nothing left at the site except cold bodies or smoking craters. And on top of that, the squadron had never taken a single casualty in all their years of service.

"Affirmative, my lord," Spectre Squadron's CO said. "My men are currently on standby, and are ready to enter the base whenever you want, my lord."

"The base's security is down." Revan told them. "Have your men incapacitate the guards at the front entrance, infiltrate the base, and do the same to the rest of the Vulkars inside. Once the base is secure, contact Lieutenant Hakran, and have him send a platoon of soldiers to arrest the Vulkars. Once the lieutenant shows up, he and his men can handle the rest. Also, apparently the Vulkars were involved in the slave market. Whenever your men find a slave, free them, treat them well, and once the base is secure tell Hakran to make them a part of the integration program that the outcasts of the Under City are currently undergoing."

"Acknowledged and understood, my lord."

* * *

><p>Bastila raised her head as she sensed her bondmate returning. "Revan's back." Sure enough, a second later one the door opened seemingly on its own, and when it closed again the Dark Lord reappeared in the exact same place he'd been when he had left them.<p>

"The Vulkars in this base are finished. In mere moments, a whole squadron of stealth commandos will have overrun this entire complex, which means our job here is done." With an air of pure confidence, Revan opened the doors, and as the others followed him, they were met with the sight of unconscious Vulkars, and deactivated security droids. Then, two commandos from Spectre Squadron deactivated their stealth field generators and saluted the Dark Lord.

A soldier wearing a sergeant insignia on his shoulder reported "Lord Revan, this level has been secured, and the rest of the base will follow shortly. Additionally, Captain Tundrath wishes me to inform you that Commander Maddraath and the rest of your personal guard are waiting for you outside, my lord."

"Very good, Sergeant. You may proceed with your mission."

* * *

><p>Moments later, Revan was once again surrounded by twenty of the deadliest non-Force users in the galaxy, and on his way back to his flagship, accompanied by Bastila, as well as Mission and Zaalbar. But he stopped when he heard Ada's voice call out to him.<p>

"Milord, wait!" When he turned to face her, she walked up to him with a look of dedication and certainty on her face that had not been there before. "You have set me free from a life of torment, and servitude – something I can never truly repay. I'm... not a soldier, but if you'll let me, I will happily spend the rest of my life serving you, milord."

"I accept your offer," Revan told her. "And do not fear, Ada. We will find a place for you. War requires far more than just soldiers."

Smiling, the former slave gave a small bow and said "I promise I'll serve you well, milord."

* * *

><p>Bastila entered her quarters on the <em>Avenger<em> with Mission right behind her, and when the Twi'lek saw the size of her living space she gaped "You live _here_?"

"Yes, Revan has been quite generous to me ever since I came aboard this ship. And now, you live here too, Mission."

"Sweet!" Mission jumped onto the nearest couch, and sighed blissfully as she lounged. "So how long do you think Revan and Big Z are gonna be?" After they had rejoined Revan's elite guard, Maddraath had informed Revan of a number of governmental situations that required his attention, such as dealing with bigoted nobles that were upset with 'having their sacred traditions cast aside' as well as alien families who claimed that their ancestors had owned property in the upper cities, or even been members of the nobility before the Tarisian government changed its laws to favour humans. And since Zaalbar had sworn a life debt to Revan, the Wookiee went with him.

"I don't know, Mission. I can tell you that Revan will be quick to disregard anyone that's upset with the changes he's made to this world's social structure, but there will be a lot of them. As for the aliens trying to regain their ancestors' lost status, it will take time to authenticate whatever proof they have to support their claim, assuming they even have it."

Suddenly the door to the suite opened, and its two residents were surprised to see Shaleena and Ada step through. They both went up to Bastila and offered a small courtesy. Ada said "Lady Bastila, Lord Revan has appointed us both as your handmaidens. Is there anything you need?"

"I need something to do!" Mission declared. "I'm bored!"

"We've been in here for less than a minute, Mission!" Bastila protested.

The Twi'lek tried to explain herself. "Well, yeah but... Back on Taris, life in the Lower City was kind of dangerous sometimes, but at least it was exciting! And I get the feeling that I'm not coming back here for a _really_ long time – not that I'm complaining, mind you. But before we go, I wanna see the Upper City. I was never able to go there before since I'm not a human, and I'd like to see just a little of it before we go."

Shaleena squealed "Oh please, can we come with you? I've wanted to see the Upper City for as long as I can remember!"

When seeing how excited they were at the chance to experience something that had been denied to them their entire lives Bastila wouldn't have been able to say no even if she'd wanted to. She smiled softly. "I'll get us a shuttle."

"_Yes_!" Mission cheered. "Watch out Upper City! Here comes Mission Vao!"

* * *

><p>Valeesha spun her newly sharpened vibrosword in her hand one last time before stepping into the arena, where Bendak Starkiller was waiting for her with an arrogant smirk on his face underneath his helmet. The instant she did so, everyone in the audience cheered. The Jedi felt her gut churn. These people were cheering at the idea of seeing someone die just so they could have a bit of entertainment and possibly win a few credits.<p>

The announcer excitedly shouted "_In this corner: a living legend! A man whose very name would make his opponents shake in their boots... if any of them were still alive! Ha ha ha! Out of retirement for one last duel: BENDAK STARKILLER!_" Everyone in the audience screamed.

"_And who would be crazy enough to step into the ring with such a lethal legend? Who would be mad enough to face almost certain death merely for your enjoyment?_"

'_As if I have a choice about this...'_ Valeesha thought in disgust.

"_Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on... the Mysterious Stranger!_" Once the cheering died down a bit, the announcer roared "_And now, the moment we've all been waiting for... LET THE DEATH MATCH BEGIN!_"

Time seemed to slow down for Valeesha Pridence. The Jedi Knight felt the Force flow through her as she calmed herself, and she activated her energy shield before taking falling into the stance of the fourth lightsaber form, Ataru, and taking off in a sprint towards Bendak. Her opponent had clearly underestimated her speed, and as he fired on the Jedi, the majority of his shots went wide as she was able to anticipate the path of his shots through the Force and utilize Ataru's speed and agility to expertly dodge them, while the rest harmlessly fell against her shield.

Finally she got within striking distance of Bendak, and as he whipped out a vibrosword of his own, Valeesha felt herself fall into a Makashi stance, the second form, specifically developed for lightsaber combat, but vibroblades were close enough.

Bendak was indeed a skilled duellist, but it was clear to Valeesha that he relied heavily on brute strength, since his armour greatly reduced his mobility. Valeesha on the other hand was only lightly armoured, but far more nimble than him. As Bendak slashed at her, she was able to deflect his blade to the side, then strike at his midsection. His armour was able to protect its wearer, but Valeesha found that the best armour was not to get hit in the first place.

As time passed, Valeesha scored more hits, however shallow they were. And as the number of hits grew, so too did Bendak's frustration. All he had to do was hit her once, and the little schutta would go down! But she kept dancing around him, too afraid to attempt at anything but score glancing blows. The coward!

It was only a matter of time before Bendak was consumed by his rage, and as his vision turned red, his strikes ceased to have any semblance of skill in them. He was just wildly whipping his sword back and forth, desperate to hit his opponent.

Valeesha jumped out of his range, and as Bendak roared at her and charged like a rampaging gundark, the Knight calmly breathed once, and stood ready. Bendak swung his vibrosword at her head, but Valeesha had seen the attack coming a mile away even without the Force to grant her foresight. The Jedi Knight ducked under his swing, and before he could recover his balance, she spun, and used the Force to amplify her strength as she plunged her blade behind her, the tip of which jutted out through the back of Bendak Starkiller's armour.

Valeesha drew her blade from his body, and tossed it aside as she grabbed Bandak's body before it could fall, and respectfully laid it to rest on the arena floor. She'd stabbed him through the heart. A quick, and merciful death.

'_There is no death, there is the Force.'_

The audience was silent as stone.

Once the announcer had recovered from his shock, he screamed "_It's over! The fight is over! He's down! Bendak is down! Bendak Starkiller is down! BENDAK STARKILLER IS DEAD!_" And as the audience cheered for Valeesha's sin, he shouted "_All hail the Mysterious Stranger! The greatest duellist ever to grace the rings of Taris!_"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe it! You actually beat Bendak Starkiller! I can't believe it! You beat him!"<p>

"No one's ever gonna want to face you in the ring again, Stranger!"

"I knew you could do it, Stranger! No one believed me, but I just knew!"

Valeesha heard all this and more from the arena's fans, but none of it mattered to her. She took her credits from Ajuur with a twisted feeling in her gut. _'This is blood money.'_ She wouldn't have even considered taking the credits if she didn't need them to get back to the Jedi Council on Dantooine.

Once she rejoined Carth and Trask, she quickly made her way toward the cantina's exit. But before she could leave, a man blocked her way.

"Stranger, I've got an offer you can't refuse."

"Not interested." Valeesha bluntly answered.

"I think you might want to reconsider," The man said in a harsh tone. Suddenly the Jedi and the two Republic soldiers found themselves surrounded by at least a dozen thugs. "Because the man I work for really doesn't like to take no for an answer."

"Just who do you work for?" Carth demanded as his hand inched toward where his blaster lay concealed.

"Hey, I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to your lady-friend," The man snapped before turning back to Valeesha. "You've done something no one on Taris thought possible, Stranger: You beat Bendak Starkiller at his own game, and doing so has caught the eye of Davik Kang. He sent me here to extend you a very generous offer to join his privileged organization. Accept, and you'll become wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. Say no, and my friends will have to resort to... different methods of persuasion."

Valeesha silently looked to the Force for guidance, and felt it urge her to continue.

"I... accept."

Carth spun to look at her. "Are you out of your-"

"Carth," She whispered, "I understand if this seems like a bad idea, but right now I need you to trust me on this."

Carth slowly and reluctantly nodded in acceptance.

"Excellent," The thug under Davik's employment smiled. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you and your friends to Davik's palace."

As the Jedi Knight and her two companions followed them, Carth grabbed Valeesha's arm and whispered "Just so we're clear, I'm only going along with this because I'm a soldier, and I follow orders. I don't trust you. I _can't_ trust you. I can't trust _anyone_."

Valeesha turned to look at him. "Why?"

In an instant, Valeesha felt a torrent of emotions from the soldier. Hatred, mourning, a sense of failure, a desire for revenge, all of that and more in a split second. Then it was gone so quickly, the Jedi wondered if she'd imagined it.

"Maybe someday, I'll tell you."

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I think that's enough for one chapter. Hope you enjoyed it, and be sure to leave a review!<strong>

**Also, for those of you wondering who the Jedi is, she's she the one that you see fighting a Sith on the **_**Endar Spire**_** before an explosion kills her. I figured that the group could use a Jedi since they don't have Revan. Plus, Trask is obviously alive since Bandon wasn't there to kill him because he was too busy attempting a coup against Revan, and we all know how that turned out. Oh, and can anyone guess which SWTOR character is descended from Valeesha/Valeesha's family? Hint: You meet her as part of the Smuggler story.  
><strong>

**As I write these stories, other ideas for more great stories come to my mind, but I'm already trying to juggle several, but I'd hate to just let these potentially great fanfics collect dust, so to speak. Which is why I'm going to summarize them for you, and if you want me to write them, just say so, or if you want to do it yourself, feel free! Just know that I will the claiming the rights to most of these, so if you want to write those ones, you'll need my permission. I just don't want anyone stealing my ideas. And you should probably know that I'm a sucker for romance, and also an all-out light-sider.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>*Major spoilers for Imperial Agent story from SWTOR*<strong>

**You know when you take down Hunter, and it turns out 'he' is actually a woman? What if instead of her dying, the Agent knocks her out before she has a chance to commit suicide, and then takes her onto his ship, and the two eventually have a romance together. I claim the rights to this story.**

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><p><strong>Every once in a while in SWTOR, the Republic and the Empire have a common enemy; Bouris Ulgo, Master Fay's Brotherhood, and Sel-Makor, just to name a few. What if one of the champions from both the Empire and the Republic (I'm thinking the Sith Warrior and the Trooper) were to repeatedly cross paths during those missions? What starts out as an uneasy alliance would slowly (<strong>_**very**_** slowly) lead to a friendly rivalry, and possibly even a romance? I claim the rights to this story.**

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><p><strong>When the Inquisitor shows up at the Sith Academy on Korriban, she bumps into the Sith Warrior. The two form an alliance to complete their trials together in order to increase their odds of survival, which of course develops into a friendship, and later a romance. I claim the rights to this story.<strong>

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><p><strong>I'm still waiting for someone to write a romance fanfic between Lord Scourge and a female Jedi Knight. Sure, Scourge is three hundred years old, but Liara in Mass Effect is over a hundred, and Shepard can even attempt a romance with Samara, who is almost a thousand! I <strong>_**don't**_** claim the rights to this story.**

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><p><strong>This last one is just a fun idea I've been toying with. A SWTORHalo crossover in which the Reds and Blues somehow wind up getting teleported to Voss. Once there, the Reds join the Empire, since their flags are red, and the Blues join the Republic since their flags are blue. Why Voss? Because these guys can literally screw up **_**anything**_**. I'm willing to bet they could even find a way to screw up a Mystic's vision/prophecy. I claim the rights to this story.**

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><p><strong>Oh, and for anyone else out there who's concerned about the purge of this website, go to www[dott]change[dott]orgpetitions/fanfiction-net-stop-the-destruction-of-fanfiction-net and sign this online petition. Join the fight against internet censorship, and make sure that this website will continue to be a place where we are free to Unleash Our Imaginations!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Relax**

Darth Revan calmly went over the list of candidates for Taris' new governor, whom he would have to appoint to manage the planet in his stead for when he would leave to continue leading his forces in the war against the Republic. He welcomed the task, as when he made his choice, whoever he selected for the position would be the one who would have to deal with all those ranting traditionalists, and he would be free to continue his duties as the Dark Lord.

Suddenly his holocomm started beeping, and as Revan activated the device, a hologram of the head of his Diplomatic Corps appeared.

"Lord Revan," The hologram said, bowing low. "General Vykus Paalren, Diplomatic Corps, reporting in."

"Give me a full status report on all missions, General." The Dark Lord of the Sith ordered.

"Right away, my lord. My men have successfully been able to make contact with the Balmorran vice president, and all indications are that he's convinced we will be the ones to win this war. If we can prove him right by moving in on the planets neighboring Balmorra, and keep the Republic from sending any reinforcements, the president herself will most likely surrender. Our profile on her suggests that she has no interest in turning her homeworld into a war zone."

Revan nodded approvingly. "Good. With Balmorra's weapon factories as well as its legions of war droids at our disposal, we'll finally have the edge over the Republic needed to make the final push into the Core Worlds."

"And when we do take Balmorra, it means that every weapon we gain, the Republic loses." The general added. "Now, as for Alderaan, House Thul has agreed to support us if we are able to provide them with the military power needed to hold out against House Organa and possibly even House Panteer. When our forces land on Alderaan, House Thul and their vassals will fight beside us."

Revan mulled this information over in his mind. "They will make excellent allies. Unfortunately, House Organa will never ally with us willingly. Their alliance with the Republic and the Jedi is borderline zealous, and they're very popular with the people of Alderaan." The Dark Lord looked back at the general. "You said that we would _possibly_ have to fight against House Panteer. Elaborate."

"Alderaan's royal family has been monitoring the war closely, my lord. Like many others, they have watched as you consistently push the Republic back to its precious Core Worlds. The queen and her family may be allies with the Republic officially, my lord, but that may change if you can show the queen that _you_ are the future of the galaxy, and that it would be in the best interest of both her house and her planet if she were to swear fealty to you."

"It would certainly make conquering Alderaan much easier with two of the great noble houses on our side." Revan said, partially to himself. Suddenly he noticed that someone else was attempting to contact him, and when he saw who it was, it instantly captured his attention. "I'm afraid I have an urgent message incoming, General Paalren. You can fill me in on the rest later."

"Understood, my lord. Signing off."

Revan opened the new channel, and the man who he had entrusted with a mission of great personal importance to him appeared.

"My lord, Captain Rasmuth of the Recovery Corps, reporting in."

Revan immediately demanded "I want a full status update, Captain - _now_."

"My lord," Rasmuth began excitedly. "We did it... we found her."

"Truly?" The Dark Lord said, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. He'd hoped to hear this news for so long, and now it had finally come.

"Yes, my lord. I'm afraid we had to sedate her in order to avoid a confrontation, but, rest assured, she is completely unharmed. As we speak, she is currently aboard my ship, safe and secure."

"Uploading rendezvous coordinates," Revan said as he typed said coordinates into a terminal. "What is your ETA?"

"I'm afraid that we have to stop at the mining facility on Peragus to refuel, but as soon as we're done here, we'll bring her straight to you, my lord. It will be good to be back in civilization."

"Excellent. When she awakens, treat her as you would me, but if she resists, do _not_ allow her to escape."

"Of course, my lord."

"And Captain," The Dark Lord informed the soldier. "When you finally bring her back, you can expect a substantial reward for your dedicated and exemplary service,"

"Thank you, my lord."

"_If_," The Dark Lord warned, "you bring her to me unharmed. Because if she has even a scratch on her, you will suffer pain unlike anything you can imagine."

"O-of course, my lord. M-my men and I will follow your orders to the letter. Rasmuth out."

The holoterminal dimmed, and Darth Revan leaned back in his chair. Everything was progressing excellently. He had been reunited with his dear Bastila, which also meant he had her invaluable battle meditation at his diposal, and now he was about to be reunited with yet another old friend.

He needed her at his side. For there was another danger on the horizon. One that nearly rivaled the threat posed by the Emperor himself. And only she had the power necessary to defeat it.

* * *

><p>Bastila, Mission, Ada, and Shaleena all exited Bastila's quarters on the <em>Avenger<em>, and the Jedi, turned towards the XO for Revan's personal guards. "Kravveth, I'd like to requisition a shuttle down the Upper City of Taris."

"Of course, my lady," The bodyguard responded. "If you would follow us to the hangar, we will take you down to the planet."

Mission smiled "Oh you don't need to do that. We can get to the hangar on our own."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that," The lieutenant commander said. "Lord Revan's orders were for Lady Bastila to be under the direct protection of at least two of his personal guards at all times."

"_What_!?" The Twi'lek shrieked. "We were planning on going down to Taris and having some girl-time in the Upper City, but now you're telling me that we have to put up a couple of stone-faced bodyguards following us the whole time? This sucks! Seriously, you guys are total killjoys."

The LC refused to show even a hint of surprise at Mission's outburst, and once she stopped he calmly said "Lord Revan's orders were very clear on this matter, but there may be a way to ensure you are protected from any possible harm in a manner that does not spoil your fun,"

"How would that work?" Bastila wondered.

Kravveth explained "My men and I are trained to deal with any enemy, in any scenario. I could send two of the female guards with you, disguised as civilians. They will blend in perfectly."

"That sounds all right to me." Ada murmured, and with that, Kravveth sent one of his men to find the guards he'd described.

He returned several minutes later with two women - one human, one Mirialan - who Bastila barely recognized as members of Revan's bodyguards now that they were wearing civilian clothing, and their expressions were much more relaxed than when they had been when in uniform.

The Mirialan grinned "Well, I understand that you four are gonna have some girl-time down on Taris! Mind if we tag along?"

The women proceeded to the hangar, and once there, they entered a shuttle where the bodyguards sat down at the pilot and copilot seats, and flew the shuttle down to Sith landing pad on Taris' Upper City.

During the flight, Bastila looked over at the two women who were flying the ship, and said "If you don't mind me saying, you both seem a lot more easy-going now than all the other times I've seen you."

The Mirialan shrugged "Eh, that's just when we're on duty. The whole stoic act seems to fit when we're guarding Lord Revan, and it helps make people not want to mess with him. But seriously, just because we can kill a man without using any weapons, and with both of our arms tied behind our backs, while wearing a blindfold, doesn't mean we don't know how to have a good time!"

Mission sighed in relief. "Glad to see not that all of you are killjoys after all. Either of you got a name?"

The human bodyguard answered "I'm Reena, and the green gal next to me is Fel'narapaarr'shoni'quaymala - or just Fel for short."

Fel grumbled "I swear, my parents must have hated me when I was born. Why else would they have given me that ridiculous name? I couldn't even say it properly until I was nine years old!"

The rest of the women giggled uncontrollably as the Mirialan ranted. Finally she calmed down again, and turned to her fellow guard. "So, Reena, know any good cantinas in the Upper City?"

"Yeah, I remember this awesome one that's about fifteen minutes away from the spaceport on a speeder. To be honest, I'm amazed that it's still operating after all this time." Reena said.

"You've been to Taris before?" Shaleena murmured, surprised.

"Yep, born and raised." Reena stated proudly. She then sighed "I was here when the Mandalorians occupied it during the last war. Those were... those were days I'd prefer to forget. Then one day, Lord Revan's ships appeared in orbit, and next thing I knew, he had sent those Mandos packing, and freed us all. I've fought by his side ever since."

"How did you learn to fight so well?" Bastila wondered.

Reena answered "When the Mandalorians took over this world, they took a lot of us as slaves, and began to train those who they saw as being worthy in the art of war. Eventually they would've adopted us into their clans once stockholm syndrome had taken effect, if you know what I mean. I never had any intentions to actually fight for them, but I figured they could teach me a thing or two before I turned on them. And that's exactly what I did when Revan's forces liberated this world." She continued "Not long after I joined up with Lord Revan back when he was a Republic general, he noticed my Mandalorian training, and helped me perfect it. Since then, he's taught me more about fighting than I ever could have imagined. And I'll use every last bit of what Lord Revan taught me to protect him from his enemies. I owe him everything."

Suddenly Fel announced "Approaching landing pad. Killing primary thrusters in three, two, one." She then flipped several switches, and pressed a large button right as she said "Lowering landing gear." As she did so, Reena smoothly guided the shuttle down to the ground. "Alright," Fel grinned as she unbuckled herself from her seat. "Who's ready to party?!"

* * *

><p>Carth Onasi, Trask Ulgo, and Valeesha Pridence all sat down on their beds in the room which Davik had given to them as they were his "guests". Carth sent yet another glare at the Jedi, and muttered "I'm still waiting to hear your reason as to why we're here."<p>

"The Force guided me." The Knight responded.

"Oh, really? Why, did the Force want you to take up a life of crime? Because if so, then great. Revan and the Sith are going to conquer the galaxy and destroy everything I've fought for, but that's okay since now that we've joined the exchange, we're gonna make a fortune by exploiting and killing innocent people." The veteran snarled.

"Patience, Carth. I understand your disdain, and I find this place and the people in it as repulsive as you do, but now that we are here I know what we must do to get back to the Republic and the Jedi." Valeesha calmly said.

That piqued both the soldiers' interests. "What've you got in mind?" Trask wondered.

The Jedi said "You all saw Davik's ship, the _Ebon Hawk_, right?"

Her plan dawned on Carth. "You want to steal it."

"Yes. It might be the only ship on this planet fast enough to outrun the Sith fleet, and I for one I have no qualms about stealing from a man like Davik.

"Sounds good to me," Trask shrugged. "You got a plan how? Davik said that no one could get into the hangar where he keeps that ship without the access codes, and I doubt he just hands them out to his thugs."

"We'll find them. Don't worry," Valeesha said reassuringly. "Now let's go. I don't want to stay in this place any longer than I have to."

"That's the best thing I've heard you say since we came here." Carth said as he gripped his blaster.

* * *

><p>Canderous Ordo looked back at Davik's estate as he exited the place with T3-M4, a custom built, state-of-the-art astromech droid, at his side. He then took his holocomm in his hand, and contacted Darth Revan.<p>

"Ah, Canderous," The Dark Lord said as he appeared. "I hope you have good news."

"I think you'll be quite pleased with the evidence I've gathered on Davik," The Mandalorian smirked. "I've got all his personal files. I imagine he's got more than a few dirty secrets in these things."

"Impressive," Lord Revan remarked. "How did you obtain these?"

The Ordo explained "See, Davik was having this atromech droid here specially built for his organization, and since the lady who built it thought I still worked for Davik, she was happy to hand it over to me. After that, I simply brought the little guy to Davik's estate, and had him slice into his personal terminal. He should be finished decrypting them in about ten minutes, so when he is, I'll send them to you."

Suddenly the droid beeped _/Davik's files = decrypted + ready to upload./T3 = do good job?/_

Canderous simply rolled his eyes as he uploaded the files, but Revan told the droid "Yes, Teethree, you performed marvelously. Canderous, bring the droid with you when you come aboard my ship. I think that it will prove to be quite useful."

_/T3 = happy to help + ready to serve!/ _The droid beeped excitedly.

"Understood, Lord Revan," Canderous said as he ignored the droid. "Shall I head to your ship now?"

"Negative, I'll go down there." The Dark Lord said. "I tried to have Davik arrested during the last war, but he bribed his way out of justice. I'm not going to let that happen again. This time, I'll put him in chains myself."

Revan and his bodyguards arrived at the location where he'd told Canderous to wait for him. When he saw him, Canderous immediately gave a Mando salute, and T3 gave the Dark Lord the closest it could to a bow.

"Glad you could make it, Lord Revan," The Mandalorian said. "Now, should we get going over to Davik's place?"

"Yes. It's time to see Davik pay for his crimes." The Dark Lord declared.

"Good. I can't wait to see the look on Davik's face when we storm in."

But when they actually arrived at Davik's estate, they were met with a very unexpected view: corpses were laying throughout the entire complex.

Revan glanced at Canderous, which the Madalorian noticed, and immediately said "Don't look at me; I didn't do this. These men were all very alive when I left."

"So you're saying that somewhere in between when you left this building an hour ago, and now, someone shot up Davik's estate, and killed most, if not all, of his guards, and possibly even the man himself. Interesting." Suddnely the Dark Lord noticed something odd about one of the corpses. "This Rodian... he was killed by a lightsaber." He stood up and ordered "Canderous, take us to the security center."

The Ordo warrior quickly took Revan and his bodyguards to said room, and once there, the Dark Lord commanded "Teethree, tap into the security cameras. I want to know what happened here."

Beeping, the droid plugged itself into the security terminal, and began searching for the the files that Darth Revan demanded. Two seconds later, a holoterminal sprang to life, and Revan saw two men and a woman leave one of the guest rooms. A few minutes later, they were in a heated battle against several of Davik's men.

The Dark Lord instantely began to carefully inspect the faces of the intruders. He recognized one.

"That's Carth Onasi."

"The soldier who became a distinguished war hero during the Mandalorian War?" Commander Maddraath asked.

"The one and only. The man's loyalty to the Republic is unrivaled," The Dark Lord confirmed. "It would seem that he was one of the Republic soldiers who managed to hide in the crowd after we drove the Republic off of Taris, which means that his companions are with the Republic as well..."

Suddenly on the holoterminal, the woman that Carth was fighting beside reached into one of her inner pockets, and drew a small, cylindrical object, from which a bright blue blade sprang from. She leaped forward, and began cutting down the remaining guards left and right, while Carth and the other Republic soldier shot down those who tried to run from the Jedi's wrath. Revan silently watched their progress as the soldiers and the Jedi stormed the entirety of Davik's home, cutting down anyone who stood in their way. Eventually, they freed a man trapped in a torture cage, and to show his gratitude the man gave them some sort of code, which they then used to break into the hangar where they encountered Davik himself, as well as a deadly mercenary by the name of Calo Nord. After a brief conversation, the two parties opened fire on one another. It wasn't long before Carth took down the crime lord of Taris with a shot right to the forehead, leaving Calo by himself against two trained soldiers and a Jedi. The bounty hunter then took out a thermal detonator simply to ensure that if he went down, they'd die with him. It may have worked if the Jedi hadn't blasted him with the Force, sending Calo as well as the thermal detonator at least a hundred feet back, so that when it blew, they were well outside the explosion's radius. Right after that, they boarded Davik's ship, and escaped Taris.

With there being nothing else to show, the holoterminal died down, and Revan murmured "So... Davik brought them into his estate as guests of some kind, but then they left their room and started blasting Daviks' men, then they killed the man himself, took his ship, then most likely escaped the planet."

"It would certainly seem that way, my lord." Maddraath muttered.

Revan turned back to Canderous. "Is there a way to track the ship?"

"No. That was Daviks' personal ship, the _Ebon Hawk_, which is a smuggling vessel, as well as the fastest ship in the Outer Rim. Wherever they intend to take that ship, odds are that they're at least halfway there by now."

"Shame. They may have known something useful, amd Davik's death makes most of these files worthless now. Teethree, is there anything you downloaded that may still have some use to me?"

T3-M4 beeped _/T3 = found Davik's personal astrogation chart./Davik = personally mapped dozens of hyperlane shortcuts between Core World + Outer Rim planets./Darth Revan = like?/_

Revan was silent for a full second, then said "Let me see that." T3 quickly uploaded the astrogation chart to a datapad which it then handed to Revan, and the Dark Lord started going over the chart. "This is... Davik must have spent _decades_ mapping out these hyperlanes. With these, my fleets will be able to launch entire invasions on the Core Worlds themselves, and the Republic willl never see them coming. Teethree, I think that this war will be over a lot more quickly thanks to you." The droid spun its "head" in delight at hearing its master's praise.

"We should return to my ship," The Dark Lord declared. "I need to call a war council, and get these charts to every fleet admiral under my command."

* * *

><p>Bastila was struggling as hard as she could, but she knew that she couldn't resist much longer.<p>

"Get out there!" Reena shouted as she tried to push the Jedi.

"No! I'm not doing it!"

"Yes you are!"

"You can't make me!"

"Yes, I, can!" Reena retorted. "Now get your butt out on that dance floor!"

"Uh, if I may interject, ladies," Fel whispered as she tapped Reena's shoulder. "Our lord would like us all back on the ship ASAP."

Bastila sighed a deep sigh of pure relief, and smirked as Reena now had an extremely disapointed look on her face. They gathered up Mission, Ada, and Shaleena, and returned to the spaceport where the shuttle that would take them back to Revan's flagship was waiting.

Whether or not she was willing to say it out loud, Bastila knew that the time she'd spent with these women today had been the most fun she'd had in years. Now that she thought about it, Bastila really didn't understand why the Jedi demanded that their students work so hard to shut out their emotions. She knew that feelings of anger, lust, and fear led to the dark side, as the Sith drew power from these emotions, but when was the last time a Sith had ever fueled their power through happiness or hope?

When they stepped back onto the _Avenger_, they learned that Revan had just found an astrogation chart with many secret routes, some of which led into the Core Worlds. And Revan intended to use this to his advantage.

An hour later, Bastila was summoned by Revan into his personal training room, which had a large dueling mat in the center, and on one of the walls were at least thirty different types of training weapons. On the far side, there was also several training dummies, built to withstand the toughest conditions. Yet it was clear that even these dummies couldn't withstand Revan's might, as several of them were lying in pieces.

Revan turned to face Bastila as she entered the room, and sheathed his lightsaber. "Bastila, we are fighting a war, and while your battle meditation will certainly play a major role, it will not help you when you engage an enemy with your lightsaber. You show remarkable potential, but it is clear that your Jedi Masters have neglected your combat training so that you would have more time to develop your battle meditation."

Bastila felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment, yet she knew that Revan's words were true.

Revan continued "I realize no matter how many precautions I take, there may be circumstances where I or my bodyguards will not be able to protect you. And if you were hurt, let alone killed, I would never be able to forgive myself. So if you are going to play a role in this fight, I demand that you do so equipped with the skills necessary to defend yourself. Now select a training weapon."

Bastila walked over to the weapon rack, and picked up a large practice saberstaff. She was a little unused to the weight, but the balance was perfect, and she soon got the hang of it.

"It appears that I have become your apprentice after all." She joked.

The humour did not reach Revan. "In name, I'm afraid that you will have to, Bastila. The Dark Jedi's fear of me is still fresh after what I did to Bandon, but if I don't take a new apprentice soon, I have no doubt that they will eventually cause trouble. I do not need an upstart sowing discord within my ranks in a pathetic attempt to impress me so that I might take the fool as my apprentice. But if the Dark Jedi believe that you are my new apprentice, that will not happen. Make no mistake, I will not risk corrupting you with the teachings of the dark side, but there is still much about the Force that I can show you, Bastila. For now, though, let us train."

Several hours later, Revan and Bastila replaced their training sabers on the weapons rack. Revan's armour was just as neatly polished as it had been when he'd entered the room. Bastila, on the other hand, had more bruises than she could count.

"Revan," She panted "could you... heal me?"

"Each bruise is a lesson, Bastila. And each lesson will make you better. Besides, they will fade in time."

"I hate you."

"If it means ensuring that you survive this war, my dear Bastila, I don't care if you hate me."

The words may have seemed cold, but at the same time, they were strangely affectionate to Bastila.

"Oh, and Bas," The young woman looked at her bondmate. "If you're going to pretend to be my apprentice, you'll need to look the part."

Suddenly an object was flying through the air towards Bastila, and despite her bruises, she caught if perfectly. When Bastila saw what it was that she had caught, her eyes widened.

It was her lightsaber.

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><p>A hooded figure walked silently through the halls of a Sith ship that was docked at the Peragus mining facility, and eventually came upon a locked door under heavy guard.<p>

Or at least, it was supposed to be.

The Sith troopers stationed to guard the door were dead, their only injuries being small, needle-thin puncture wounds on their throats. The same could be seen throughout the rest of the ship. There was no signs of any sort of battle.

The hooded figure waved a hand, and the door slid open. Inside was a young woman who had once been in a deep, sedative-induced sleep. Now though, she bore a mark on her throat similar to the ones the men who had been guarding her had.

The mysterious hooded figure approached the woman's body.

"Awaken."

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><p><strong>Alright, hope you enjoyed that chapter, people. Please leave a review, as they are what fuels this story!<strong>

**Davik's astrogation chart is actually something that you find during the Smuggler storyline in SWTOR, for those of you who are wondering where I got that from. Also, remember that Revan isn't a tyrant like Malak, so Carth, Trask, and Valeesha didn't need the Sith launch codes to escape. And since no one wanted to guess which SWTOR character Valeesha is distantly related to, I'll just tell you: Nariel Pridence, the Jedi that the Smuggler meets on Tatooine. Anything else you guys wanna know (aside from spoilers regarding this fanfic).**


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